Bus accidents were in the headlines this week according to https://whkpa.com/auto-accidents/. A school bus collided with a pick-up truck on Monday, and a chartered bus struck a disabled semi early Thursday morning.
Oregon State Police issued citations to the occupants of the pick-up. The driver, 86, was attempting to turn around when the bus ran into his vehicle. Officers cited him for violation of a traffic control device. His passenger, a 35-year-old woman, was cited for having an open container of alcohol in the truck.
Both occupants of the truck sustained minor injuries. The driver and two passengers of the bus — ages 13 and 18 — were also injured.
The charter bus was traveling west on Interstate 80 around 2 a.m. Thursday when it struck a disabled tractor trailer blocking all westbound lanes of traffic.
Officials reported that the driver of the semi had drifted into the median, overcorrected and flipped onto its side. Another semi was unable to avoid the overturned truck. It clipped the first truck and came to rest in a ditch.
The bus followed the second semi into the fray. The bus hit the median after it ran into the first truck.
Emergency personnel transported the injured to a nearby medical center. A hospital spokesperson said 30 people were treated for minor injuries and released. Five people, including the bus driver and the driver of the first truck, were admitted. The hospital representative did not identify the patients by name but said that one was in critical condition, one in serious condition and the rest in fair condition.
Officials said the bus driver had 10 years of experience. In her seven years with this company, she has driven 824,000 miles without an accident.
The company has a clean safety record. The bus itself is new. Regulations require all commercial buses to have seat belts, as this one did, but passengers are not required to buckle up.