Investigators are still reviewing evidence from a California bus crash that caused ten fatalities last week. The crash occurred when a package delivery truck cross the median and collided with a car and then a bus carrying high school students. At least one person who witnessed the accident said that when the delivery truck crossed the median it was on fire. However, investigators say that their preliminary findings indicate that the truck was not on fire at the time it first came in contact with the sedan on the road.
There is still a lot of missing information about this multi-vehicle accident, so it is too soon to determine if anyone was negligent in causing the crash to occur. Depending on the findings the operator of the delivery truck, FedEx, may be liable to the victims and their families for the injuries and deaths that occurred.
The driver of the car that was first impacted by the FedEx truck says that she saw flames as the truck approached. A subsequent explosion between the bus and the truck made it difficult for experts to determine the original source of the flame. Depending on the eventual outcome of this inquiry, the manufacturer or the truck could also be liable for injuries if there was a defect of some kind that caused the fire to start initially. At this point it is too soon to make any determinations of fault as investigators continue to work to determine the precise series of events and narrow down potential causes for the crash.
Source: Ventura County Star, “NTSB: No evidence of pre-impact fire in bus crash,” April 13, 2014.
