Maryland State Police are investigating a Frederick County traffic crash between two school buses onThursday that they say went unreported. A number of school children reportedly sustained injuries.
According to the authorities, a Littlestown School District bus collided with another district bus at around 3pm. A number of third graders that had been headed back to Littlestown Rolling Acres Elementary after a field trip to Washington DC were later taken to hospitals by their parents. Injuries sustained ranged from minor bruises to possible bone fractures and concussions. One student lost a tooth. Another student suffered a bloody nose.
The school bus drivers reportedly discussed the collision with each other and notified district staff about the incident before leaving the Maryland bus accident site. At the time, the bus drivers reportedly did not realize that any of the students had been hurt.
According to the Gettysburg Times, a number of the students’ parents have expressed dismay with how the Maryland school bus accident was handled. They are wondering why police and ambulances were not called to the crash site immediately, whether the bus drivers had been given a plan for what to do during a traffic, and, if so, then why the plan wasn’t followed.
One parent says that chaperones who were on the bus when the crash happened were surprised when the bus driver resumed driving before help could arrive. Another parent says that someone on the bus called for help but that somebody else cancelled the request. Someone else says that one of the bus drivers had been tailgating. Parents were reportedly told that it was up to them to determine whether their child needed medical care and to make sure that he/she received it.
Buses collide, pupils injured, Gettysburg Times, October 22, 2010
Investigation continues into school bus crash near Frederick, WTOP, October 23, 2010
Related Web Resource:
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, Large Truck and Bus Crash Facts
Our Frederick County car crash lawyers represent children and adults that have been injured in collisions caused by other parties’ negligence. There may be more than one party who should be held liable.