Posted on 04/11/2014 5:06:30 AM PDT by ilovesarah2012
(CNN) -- A FedEx truck crossed a median and slammed head-on into a bus carrying students in Northern California, killing 10 people, authorities said Friday. The collision Thursday evening killed both drivers, five students and three chaperones, said Lt. Bill Carpenter with the California Highway Patrol.
The reason the FedEx truck crossed the median remains under investigation, the highway patrol said. At least 34 people were taken to local hospitals, authorities said.
The bus was taking students from various Los Angeles-area schools to visit Humboldt State University in Arcata. The collision occurred in Orland, about 100 miles north of Sacramento.
(Excerpt) Read more at edition.cnn.com ...
Must've been a FedEx semi, as those local box trucks seem kinda flimsy ?
One of a parent’s worst nightmares.
From the LA Times:
“ORLAND, Calif. — The death toll in a head-on collision between a FedEx truck and a bus full of Los Angeles-area high school students rose to 10 early Friday, officials said.
The victims included five students, three adult chaperons, the driver of the truck and the driver of the bus, a California Highway Patrol dispatcher told The Times.
Shortly after 5:30 p.m. Thursday, the FedEx truck crossed the grassy median that separates Interstate 5 here and slammed into the bus packed with students en route to visit Humboldt State University, about 200 miles north of the crash site.
The impact, which witnesses said sounded like a series of explosions, caused both vehicles to burst into flames. The fireball and towering black smoke were captured by the cellphone cameras of others in nearby cars.”
Photos are horrible.
It made me cry. So horrible. We just never know.
FEDEX has deep pockets and will pay dearly for this. Prayers to the injured and their loved ones.
Why is there no concrete or cable median barrier?
Terrible!! I also feel so sad for the young mom who lost her precious 4 year old girl at the day care car hit and run the other day; she’s just destroyed now. Prayers...!
Yes, how terribly sad. Life is so fragile. Prayers for those involved and for their families. In an instant the course of their lives are forever changed.
1st thought was "driver texting" - I've seen it often and it's frightening.
>Why is there no concrete or cable median barrier?
California spent the money on ILLEGALS instead of safety for citizens.
Either texting or sexting. Unfortunately, its very common. We need Cell phones that deactivate when inside of a moving vehicle going faster than say, 20mph. Calls can come in but nothing will go out till you stop moving.
There will be now...similar type accident in Oregon years ago (altho not as large) made the state erect barriers
I wonder if the FEDEX driver lived? If so, we may get an answer. They’ll surely check his phone anyway.
One news channel said that truck driver may have swerved to avoid hitting a car that was being driven in an erratic manner. I suspect reconstruction of the events which caused this tragedy may be difficult if not impossible.
A blown front tire can’t be ruled out either.
It is clearly stated that both drivers were killed.
And both vehicles burned.
Cellphone might be destroyed.
Driver fatigue is another likely factor;truck drivers are routinely pushed to spend too many hours behind the wheel.There are tricks used to count time the driver is awake but not driving as rest ,which such time isn’t rest if spent at other tasks.New computerized logs are cutting down on this but I still know of truck drivers working a 12 hour day doing terminal work and then climbing into the truck cab for a 600 mile run across three states to deliver the next morning.All of which their company dispatch is fully aware of;companies and dispatchers have been pushing drivers to “get the freight there ,or we will find someone who can” or “please,do this run because the customer really needs it” ,etc. for as long as there has been trucking.Drivers often find,or feel, themselves pressured to stay behind the wheel long after “tired”,often until just exhausted. Being paid only for miles ,not time, aggravates the problems.
See that sign on the truck”drivers:earn 40 cents a mile” ?
That means driving one hundred miles (and mileage determined by dispatch maps,not the odometer) for $40.Figure in loading and unloading time,waiting one’s turn at the dock, and traffic tie-ups all use time.If a driver manages 500 miles of paid mileage a day then he will make $50,000 a year.And will likely spend closer to 70,not 40 hours each week in the truck.
The cure is higher pay,stricter COMPANY compliance with driving rules, and that means higher prices for everything.From years of observation I believe that actual universal compliance with the intent of the DOT driver restriction would mean many more drivers to move the same goods.Adding lots of low-paid Mexican or recent immigrants from anywhere drivers who can’t speak English or read the road signs isn’t a good solution,though it seems popular with trucking companies.
Even if the cellphone is destroyed, the carrier will have a record if the phone was in use at that time.
was the FedEx truck a GM truck?
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