{"id":24593,"date":"2019-05-19T12:38:06","date_gmt":"2019-05-19T16:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rhinolawyers.com\/?p=24593"},"modified":"2026-05-27T16:38:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T16:38:00","slug":"two-charter-buses-in-crash-sending-34-to-hospital-in-polk-county","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.rhinolawyers.com\/es\/two-charter-buses-in-crash-sending-34-to-hospital-in-polk-county\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Charter Buses Crash sending 34 to Hospital"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two charter buses taking students to Orlando on a field trip collided with each other injuring 34 of the 91 occupants of the buses. The Florida Highway Patrol says<\/strong><\/a> the buses were following a truck that was pulling a trailer that had no operating brake lights, and when the trailer slowed to turn into a driveway, the driver of the closest bus didn\u2019t notice the turn and slammed on brakes.<\/p>\n

The second bus driver was unable to slow in time and hit the bus in front of it. In all, 34 occupants from both buses went to the hospital. The rest were taken to a fire station to wait for another bus to take them on their way.<\/p>\n

The accident happened around 10:15 a.m., Friday, May 17, 2019, in the area of Rockridge Road and Dean Still Road north of Polk City. The Port Richey Pepin Academies Pasco Campus students were going to the medieval festival in Kissimmee for a field trip. Most of the injuries were minor with a few being moderate. Of the 34 injured, three were adults who were chaperoning the trip. Police cited the driver of the pickup with defective equipment. And, charged one of the bus drivers with careless driving.<\/p>\n

Charter Bus Accidents<\/h2>\n

Each year around 137,000 people injured and 135 people die in school bus-related incidents. Only 6 or 7 of those fatalities being students who were riding on the bus. Others include hitting kids outside the bus and occupants of other vehicles that collide with a bus.<\/p>\n

Statistically, students are rarely killed while riding the bus. The reason is the size and weight of the bus. A bus weighs around 30,000 lbs which outweighs the average passenger car by a factor of 10. Thus, when a car hits a school bus, most of the damage is to the car. The students are usually protected by the bulk of the bus.<\/p>\n

Bus Accident Injuries<\/h2>\n

The vast majority of the 137,000 injuries for bus occupants each year are minor, but some can be moderate to serious. Most school buses and private charter buses don\u2019t have seatbelts. As a result, people get tossed around during an accident causing many of the injuries. These are some common injuries in a school bus crash:<\/p>\n