California Injury Blog
A 25-year-old woman, who reportedly was possibly talking on her cell phone and not wearing a seatbelt, was killed when a public bus carrying school students crashed into the sedan she was driving, also injuring six students on the bus, according to a news report in the Los Angeles Daily News.
The Santa Clarita Transit Bus was carrying 15 passengers including junior high and high school students, officials told the newspaper. The bus driver and one student had to be transported to a local hospital, according to another Associated Press news report. Four other children were reportedly treated at the scene for minor injuries. The children on the bus were students from West Ranch High School and Rancho Pico Jr. High School, the Daily News reported.
The woman driver, whose name has not yet been released, was driving a Toyota Camry.
According to California Highway Patrol officials, the bus was headed south on The Old Road and the Camry was traveling east on Constitution near the Santa Clarita marketplace when the bus crash occurred. The driver’s side of the Camry was completely smashed in and the front of the bus reportedly rested on a concrete median.
Although several news reports suggest based on eyewitness reports that the driver of the Camry was on the cell phone at the time of the crash, officials are still looking into that aspect of it and investigating the report that she might not have been wearing a seatbelt either.
There is very little information, of course, on how exactly this crash occurred and whose fault it was. It is a tragedy for the woman, who would’ve probably been alive had she been wearing a seat belt. It would also be interesting to see whether her being distracted by a cell phone (if the reports were in fact correct), had anything to do with the crash.
If the accident was the bus driver’s fault, then there is a good chance that the city could be held liable for the death and/or injuries. This is why it is very important that those injured in an bus accident should consider retaining a personal injury attorney early on so that an experienced lawyer with the resources to conduct a thorough investigation makes sure that no important facts are left out or overlooked.