Less that two weeks after an Elizabeth City truck and school bus crash sent a dozen people to North Carolina hospitals, an truck and bus crash in Charlotte has also injured 12 people and have NC residents wondering whether truck drivers pay sufficient attention to school bus stops and school bus laws.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg school bus #106 was headed to Whitewater Middle School around 8:30 am on Tuesday morning and carrying roughly 60 students when a box truck driver behind the bus failed to stop when the bus stopped to pick up children at a bus stop. The truck accident took place outside of the Westside Apartment complex at Freedom Drive near Dunham Memorial Baptist Church.
Eleven children and the driver of the school bus were injured in the NC wreck and taken to Presbyterian Hospital and Carolinas Medical Center. A spokesperson from the school informed parents and community members that the truck accident injuries consisted of minor bumps and bruises. The other students were transported to school in another bus.
According to North Carolina law, it is illegal to follow closely behind a school bus as the box truck driver probably was when the rear-end truck accident occurred. Everyone should be aware that school buses make frequent stops.
Charolotte-Mecklenburg Police have not filed charges against the truck driver in the case yet, but may in the future depending on the results of the investigation.