The Lietz Law Firm Indicates Casualties In Ohio Bus Crash Could Have Been Worse

Washington, D.C. (Law Firm Newswire) October 28, 2013 – On a recent Saturday, a Greyhound bus drove off an Ohio interstate highway at high speed and flipped, injuring at least 35 people.

The accident happened just before 4 a.m. on Interstate 75 near Monroe, Ohio. Of the 51 passengers on board, at least two suffered serious injuries, police said, and dozens more were taken to six local hospitals. The injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

“Buses are very safe in general, but when an accident happens – especially a rollover – the injuries can be catastrophic,” said Washington, D.C. personal injury attorney David Lietz. “Passengers on buses tend not to wear seat belts and can therefore be thrown around violently in a crash. The fact that there were no fatalities and only limited serious injuries is quite fortunate.”

The bus was on the way to Detroit when it ran off the highway, struck a fence and a tree, and came to rest on its side in a field of corn. The cause of the crash was not immediately known, but a passenger told WCPO-TV that he believed the driver may have experienced a medical problem.

Kim Paskett, a spokeswoman for Greyhound, said that the driver, Dwayne Garrett, 64, had been with the company for 15 years. He had a clean record and was well-rested, having been on duty for just one hour at the time of the crash, Paskett said.

Lt. Edward Mejia of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said Garrett gave investigators a statement and voluntarily gave a blood sample. Blood test results were expected to take at least a week.

Federal and local investigators inspected the bus on the Monday following the accident, but the results of the inspection were not immediately available. Plaskett said the bus had been subjected to a major annual inspection two weeks prior to the accident, and Department of Transportation records show the bus underwent two surprise inspections since 2011, passing both.

In 2010, the Department of Transportation gave Greyhound a “satisfactory” company-wide safety rating – the highest possible. Greyhound buses have been involved in 102 crashes in the past two years. Three involved fatalities, and 57 involved injuries.