A bus accident in New York State that injured 27 people is a good example of why you want your own attorney when dealing with issues that may arise after motor vehicle crashes that involve more than one car or truck.
This series of crashes occurred when an apparently drunk driver’s car hit a guardrail on Interstate 81 near Syracuse around 2:30 a.m. Thursday. The drunk driver then abandoned the vehicle in the traffic lanes.
A truck driver stopped and was attempting to warn other drivers of the danger when the Trailways tour bus slammed into his tractor-trailer. The driver of the bus was severely injured and it took emergency medical personnel two hours to extract the driver from the wreckage of the bus.
So, clearly the drunk driver who abandoned his vehicle on I-81 has some liability, as he began the chain of events that led to the additional crashes. But what about the truck driver?
While he had the proper motivation, there will be questions of where he parked his truck, whether its lighting met safety standards and did he negligently leave part of his vehicle in a traffic lane where it could be struck.
And there will be questions regarding the behavior of the bus driver. Given that it was 2:30 a.m., was he drowsy or did he fall asleep? Was he distracted and using a cellphone or texting?
One thing you can be certain of and that is the insurance companies for all of these entities will have their attorneys attempting to shift the blame to other drivers. If you are ever involved in such a crash, make sure you have legal representation to protect your rights.
Reuters.com, “Bus, car and truck crash injures 27 people near Syracuse,” Matthew Liptak, November 6, 2014
