DeclinetoState
11-21-2006, 01:19 PM
By DESIREE HUNTER (Associated Press Writer)
From Associated Press
November 21, 2006 1:55 PM EST
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A fourth high school student has died from injuries she got in when a school bus nose-dived off an interstate overpass, the police chief said Tuesday.
The bus driver, who was found critically injured on the overpass, was among 15 who remained hospitalized, authorities said. Four were listed as critical.
Police Chief Rex Reynolds identified the fourth victim of Monday's school bus wreck as Crystal Renee McCrary, 17. Like the other victims, she was a student at Lee High School who was on the bus when a car came up in a side lane and the bus veered over the guardrail and crashed about 30 feet below.
Debbie Hersman, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said investigators were trying to determine how the driver ended up on the overpass, escaping the devastating impact that crumpled the front of the bus.
Two teenage girls died in the wreckage; a third died later at a hospital. More than 30 students were injured.
. . .
The National Transportation Safety Board, which was to investigate the wreck, has said that school buses are designed to protect occupants without the use of seat belts. A new design uses strong, well-padded, high-backed seats, closely spaced together, the NTSB has said.
More at AP (http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20061121/456287d0_3ca6_15526200611211271392256)
The only way a school bus will be safe in a rollover accident (if, indeed, any vehicle in a rollover can be considered "safe") is if all passengers are belted in. However, given that rollover accidents are comparatively rare, and that seat belts may actually increase the dangers to passengers in other situations (including kids using them to choke each other), I'm not convinced that the net effect of requiring the installation and use of seat belts on school buses is practical or desirable.
From Associated Press
November 21, 2006 1:55 PM EST
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - A fourth high school student has died from injuries she got in when a school bus nose-dived off an interstate overpass, the police chief said Tuesday.
The bus driver, who was found critically injured on the overpass, was among 15 who remained hospitalized, authorities said. Four were listed as critical.
Police Chief Rex Reynolds identified the fourth victim of Monday's school bus wreck as Crystal Renee McCrary, 17. Like the other victims, she was a student at Lee High School who was on the bus when a car came up in a side lane and the bus veered over the guardrail and crashed about 30 feet below.
Debbie Hersman, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said investigators were trying to determine how the driver ended up on the overpass, escaping the devastating impact that crumpled the front of the bus.
Two teenage girls died in the wreckage; a third died later at a hospital. More than 30 students were injured.
. . .
The National Transportation Safety Board, which was to investigate the wreck, has said that school buses are designed to protect occupants without the use of seat belts. A new design uses strong, well-padded, high-backed seats, closely spaced together, the NTSB has said.
More at AP (http://my.earthlink.net/article/top?guid=20061121/456287d0_3ca6_15526200611211271392256)
The only way a school bus will be safe in a rollover accident (if, indeed, any vehicle in a rollover can be considered "safe") is if all passengers are belted in. However, given that rollover accidents are comparatively rare, and that seat belts may actually increase the dangers to passengers in other situations (including kids using them to choke each other), I'm not convinced that the net effect of requiring the installation and use of seat belts on school buses is practical or desirable.