Alligator Causes Fatal Bus Crash In South Carolina | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

According to authorities, an alligator crossing a busy road was at fault for a deadly bus crash that took place bear Levy, South Carolina in Jasper County.

Reports allege that 47-year-old Stephen Newell was driving down Highway 170 On Friday, May 8, just around 10:50 p.m. when an alligator crossed in front of the path of his car. Newell swerved to miss the creature, swerving into the path of an oncoming Greyhound bus also driving on Highway 170.

Newell died at the scene of the bus accident. The alligator was also killed as a consequence of the bus crash.

No one riding on the Greyhound bus was injured in the mass transit accident, although many of the passengers were understandably shaken by the experience. Although the passengers on the bus were unable to exit the bus through the front door, they filed out through the emergency window exit.

Many of the passengers voiced their appreciation for their bus driver, who reacted correctly and calmly in light of the crash.

“I didn’t see anything, I just closed my eyes,” Judith Cruz, a passenger on the bus, told WISN News. “All I thought was the bus was going to flip over altogether. If it wasn’t for the bus driver being alert and safe. I thank him.”

Safety authorities and police officers urge drivers not to swerve when faced with hitting an animal crossing the road – in many cases, swerving into oncoming traffic is much more dangerous and life-threatening than hitting an animal in your lane.