Four people died and dozens were injured on March 6 when a charter bus traveling from Austin, Texas to Biloxi, Mississippi was hit by a train at a railroad crossing.

According to a Biloxi city spokesperson, the Biloxi bus crash occurred at 2 PM on March 6 when a CSX train slammed into the bus that apparently was stuck on the tracks. The bus was pushed 300 feet before the train stopped. There were 42 people on the bus. Four died and more than two dozen were injured.

Eyewitnesses reported that the bus had been stuck for at least five minutes in downtown Biloxi before the train hit it. It is unclear why the bus driver did not immediately evacuate the bus when it became stuck.

The family of the couple who were killed in the bus crash have now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the bus driver, ECHO Tours and Charter Transportation company, as well as Diamond Tours, Inc. The bus was traveling from Austin, Texas to Biloxi, Mississippi when it was hit by a freight train. Four people died and dozens were injured.

The wrongful death lawsuit claims that there was a ‘humped’ crossing sign that was posted just before the railroad track crossing. This indicates that there is low ground at the crossing and there is a potential for getting stuck.

The lawsuit notes that two months earlier, a train slammed into a Pepsi delivery truck at the very same crossing. The truck’s trailer was stuck on the hump and could not cross before the crash. The same thing happened with the tour bus.

Our View

Our sympathies go out to the victims of this terrible bus and train accident in Mississippi. The National Transportation Safety Board has confirmed that this Biloxi railroad crossing does indeed have a ‘hump’ that can cause tractor trailers and buses to become stuck. The NTSB is also investigating if the steep grade that is front of the crossing played a role in the wreck.

The NTSB is still reviewing the cause of this tragic bus crash, but it appears that the bus driver may have been negligent in not removing the passengers from the bus right away. ABC News reports that the train was only traaveling at 26 MPH when the crew pulled the emergency brake to stop the train as they saw the obstacle ahead. The train was going just 19 MPH when it hit the bus.

It would appear that the family of the deceased couple will have a strong case in their bus crash wrongful death lawsuit. Our personal injury attorneys have successfully settled truck and bus crashes for millions of dollars where a driver and/or a company was negligent, leading to death and serious injury. This case appears to be one involving negligence, as well.