North Carolina-based SkyExpress Bus Crash Results in 4 Dead, at Least 50y Injured | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

About 30 miles north of Richmond, Virginia (VA), a tour bus operated by a discount company with a poor record of using fatigued drivers overturned on I-95 before 5 am on the last Tuesday in May 2011, killing four people and injuring at least 50, according to the Associated Press.

The SkyExpress bus left Greensboro, North Carolina (NC), on Monday night and was headed to New York City with 59 people aboard. Fifty-four people were taken to hospitals and treated for minor to serious injuries.

The accident was under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, a Department of Transportation division, issued an order limiting the North Carolina-based SkyExpress bus company’s service from providing interstate transportation services “for violating multiple federal safety regulations.”

SkyExpress buses have been involved in four crashes, with one injury or fatality during the two-year period ending May 20, 2011. Its drivers have been cited for 17 unsafe-driving violations, including eight for speeding, since 2009. The bus driver in the Virginia crash, age 37, was charged with reckless driving, and held in a local jail on $3,000 bond, for swerving off northbound I-95, hitting an embankment and flipping. Police said driver fatigue was a factor.

The Charlotte, NC-based SkyExpress runs multiple bus routes along the East Coast, including one from Virginia Beach to Washington. Officials said they “found multiple violations in the areas of driver qualification requirements, drug and alcohol compliance, hours-of-service and vehicle maintenance.” This bus wreck was an example of safety not being the number one priority for some bus companies.

This deadly bus crash demonstrated that the bus industry won’t take essential steps to protect passengers’ safety unless required by the government. The SkyExpress bus in the Virginia accident had no passenger seat belts.  Besides death, serious injuries like brain and spinal cord injuries may result from a bus accident.

Those injured in this Virginia bus wreck may be looking at months, or years of recovery for personal injuries. A bus crash can be a life-changing tragedy that requires the assistance of Virginia personal injury attorneys for full justice.

To learn more about what to do if you or a loved one is hurt in a bus accident, check out our Frequently Asked Questions devoted to the subject.

LC