A bus driver, two football players and a 10 year old died after a bus carrying a junior college football team from South Carolina crashed on US Highway 74 near Hamlet NC. 

The North Carolina State Police stated that the left front tire blew on the bus at 2:30 PM on Sept. 17, which sent the bus into a guard rail. It then hit a concrete bridge column.

The driver of the bus was killed as were two teenagers and the 10 year old child. Two of the dead were thrown from the bus, and two were rescued from inside the bus, but the latter two died at the hospital.

Our View

Our hearts go out to the families in this terrible bus accident. Our personal injury attorneys often represent the families of people who are injured or killed in truck and bus accidents. There are many cases where the vehicle was not properly maintained and this can lead to accidents. One of the most common items to be neglected on vehicle maintenance is the tires.

Tires with old tread are more prone to blowing out. While we do not know how well the bus and tires were maintained on this bus, this would be something that we would closely investigate if a wrongful death lawsuit were filed. Many of these cases result in large settlements or verdicts for families, which hopefully can be used for good in the name of the deceased.