St. Louis, Missouri police responded yesterday morning to a tractor trailer and school bus accident. The police reported the tractor trailer rear ended the school bus at the intersection of Virginia and Michigan avenues in St. Louis. 

Police added there were 26 students on board when the rear end accident occurred. First responders were called to the scene to examine all children for injuries. Approximately 13 children were taken to the hospital with minor injuries. It is not clear why the tractor trailer failed to stop in time and hit the rear of the bus.

Our View

Our personal injury attorneys in Virginia and North Carolina are relieved that no children were apparently seriously injured in this rear end accident. As truck accident attorneys, we know the serious injuries and sometimes fatalities that can occur when truck drivers fail to stop and hit traffic in front of them.

Tractor trailers weigh up to 80,000 pounds fully loaded, and it takes a longer time and distance for them to stop. The blind spots that truckers have also can make it harder for the trucker to be aware of what is going on around the vehicle. He may be looking in the side mirrors to check on traffic and this could lead to a distraction that can cause a serious accident.

Truck drivers also have been known to be distracted by other things behind the wheel. Some truckers have gotten into rear end accidents because they were looking at or texting on their cell phones, while others sometimes fall asleep behind the wheel. Whatever the reason, all truck drivers must pay strict attention to the road when they are driving. They all have commercial drivers licenses and must take their driving seriously or accidents can happen.

One of the more serious truck accidents our personal injury attorneys worked on occurred a few years ago in Virginia Beach. A truck driver apparently fell asleep while driving his rig on a local road. He failed to stop at a stop sign and rear ended our clients’ small car at 40 MPH. The crash was so severe that the front seats of the car collapsed onto the two little girls in the back seat. Both girls suffered traumatic brain injuries. One of the girls quickly recovered but the other suffered severe injuries to the frontal lobes of her brain.

Our personal injury attorneys settled this case for $5.5 million so the child could get the medical care she needs for life. But this tragic accident highlights the danger of truck drivers not taking their driving duties seriously and causing a serious rear end accident.