2006 Huntsville bus crash

The Huntsville bus crash involved a school bus carrying 40 students from Lee High School to the Huntsville Center for Technology and occurred on November 20, 2006, on an elevated portion of Interstate 565 in Huntsville, Alabama.

Huntsville bus crash
Details
DateNovember 20, 2006
LocationHuntsville, Alabama
CountryUnited States
LineSchool bus
OperatorLaidlaw Transit
OwnerLaidlaw Transit
Incident typeFall from bridge
Statistics
BusSchool bus
Passengers40
Deaths4
Injured34

Incident

Police stated that the bus went over the side of the road after a car driven by another Lee High student tried to swerve around the bus, causing the bus driver to swerve going over the edge of the elevated roadway.[1] The driver was ejected from the bus before it went over the side of the bridge, as he was not wearing a seat belt.[2] The bus hit the 32-inch-high cement bridge rail and rode the top of the rail for 117 feet before it plunged over the side.[3]

Four students were killed and 23 were injured after the bus plunged almost 40 feet (12 m). Of the four, all were female students who ranged in age from 16 to 19 years-old.[3]

Aftermath

The crash was extensively covered by CNN and USA Today.[4][5] A photograph of James "Rusty" Edward Moore Jr. sitting next to his girlfriend who was covered by a blanket went viral, as many thought Moore Jr was sitting next to a dead body. The girlfriend however was just resting and cold.[3]

The crash reignited debate over the installation of seat belts in buses, and whether Alabama should follow the lead of states such as Florida in legislating compulsory lap belts.[6] Following the crash Alabama Governor Bob Riley ordered a report be made into the issue. A study group consisting of education and transport officials interviewed 17 expert witnesses, and in early 2007 released recommendations that a pilot program be run with lap and shoulder belts being installed in a limited number of new buses from 2008.[7]

A similar accident occurred on November 21, 2016, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where a school bus driver lost control of a bus, causing it to roll over on its side and crash into a tree, killing six students and injuring 23.

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References
  1. "Bus Accident Update: Fourth Student Dies". Archived from the original on February 16, 2007. Retrieved December 21, 2006.
  2. Cantrell, Aaron (November 19, 2016). "Remembering the Lee High School Bus Crash". WHNT.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  3. Dunigan, Jonece Starr (November 20, 2016). "Finding life after death 10 years after school bus crash killed four". al.com. Retrieved July 7, 2019.
  4. "At least 3 students killed in school bus crash". CNN. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  5. "3 students killed in school bus crash in Alabama". USA Today. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  6. "Story of Strength: Meet Maddie Jamieson". WHNT-TV. September 1, 2012. Retrieved November 2, 2016.
  7. "Recommendations from the Governor's Study Group on School Bus Seat Belts" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on September 30, 2007. Retrieved July 13, 2007.


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