Tag Archives: Accident

2 Dead, 41 hurt in bus crash involving Louisiana flood

A private rental bus involved in a multiple car accident which killed two people is seen in a picture released by the Louisiana State Police

(Reuters) – A bus with an unlicensed driver spun out of control near New Orleans on Sunday, killing two people and injuring 41, while taking volunteers to help with Louisiana flood relief, officials said.

St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among those killed in the early morning crash after the chartered bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey told reporters at a news conference.

Two other firefighters were injured in the crash, one critically, and a passenger in another vehicle struck by the bus died at the scene, the spokeswoman said.

The driver, who was unauthorized to drive a commercial vehicle, was in custody and would be booked on suspicion of negligent homicide, reckless driving and driving without a license, Matey said.

“All three firemen were thrown over the guard rail and into the water below,” Matey said.

The incident started when a speeding pickup truck spun out of control, bouncing from one side of the road to the other before coming to rest along the right lane and shoulder of Interstate 10 near the community of Laplace, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of New Orleans, Matey said.

The firefighters and state police troopers were on scene to investigate when the bus, also out of control, slammed into the fire truck and a Toyota Camry, Matey said. Jermaine Starr, a passenger in the Camry, was pronounced dead at the scene.

It was not immediately clear why the bus driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, 37, lost control.

Rodriguez, who is from Honduras, was in the United States illegally and Homeland Security officials are assisting the state in its investigation, Matey said.

The Acadian Ambulance Service said on Twitter it had taken 38 people to hospitals and that a second ambulance company had transported three to hospitals.

Matey said at the news conference that most of the injuries to the 24 people on the bus were minor to moderate.

The bus, filled with volunteers to help residents recover from massive flooding in Louisiana earlier this month, was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 when it crashed into the fire truck and another vehicle, the television station and other media reported.

As many as 60,600 homes were reported damaged or destroyed in flooding that ravaged 20 parishes, or counties, in the southern part of Louisiana. About 3,000 residents were still living in shelters as of Aug. 22, officials said last week.

(Reporting by Sharon Bernstein in Sacramento, California; Editing by Alan Crosby and Bill Trott)

Pastor Who Lost Both Sons In Car Wreck Forgives Driver Who Caused Wreck

A North Carolina pastor who lost both of his baby sons in a car accident said that he and his wife have forgiven the man who caused the accident.

Pastor Gentry Eddings of Forest Hill Church in Charlotte was driving home in a car separate from his pregnant wife Hadley and his two year old son Dobbs.  The car driven by Hadley was struck from behind by a box truck driven by 28-year-old Matthew Deans.

Dobbs died in the accident.  Their other son, Reed, was delivered via emergency C-section but died two days later.

Deans has been charged with two counts of misdemeanor death by vehicle and a count of failure to reduce speed.

“We have, in our hearts, forgiven the man who did this,” Eddings proclaimed at the funeral for his sons. “It was not the easiest thing to do, but in some ways it was because we know — Hadley and I — that Jesus Christ has forgiven us our debt. … So in some ways, it was very easy to forgive a man who made an accident.”

Members of the congregation set up a fund to pay for the funeral expenses and raised almost $200,000 in nine days to help the family.

The pastor and his wife’s choosing to forgive and show Christ to the driver has also made waves in the secular world, with magazines such as People featuring the couple and their hard choice.

“God’s Not Done With Me Yet!”

An Oklahoma Highway Patrol officer is giving praise to God after surviving a horrific accident in March.

Trooper Gary Sanders was in his cruiser when another driver slammed into his vehicle.  The impact was so strong that it sent Sanders’ cruiser into a vehicle he had just pulled over before the crash.

Trooper Sanders critical injuries included multiple broken bones and major internal injuries.  He experienced many surgeries and painful physical therapy.

“Looking at it, I should have died,” Sanders cried.

Now, with the support of his family and community and faith in God, he is already walking.

Sanders said it’s a miracle that he was alive.

“If you want to use the term miracle, yes. I just say God’s not finished with me yet,” Sanders told NewsChannel 4.

He is re-learning every day tasks like walking but he says he’s making great progress.

“I know I can get back there eventually. It’s just going to take time,” Trooper Sanders said. “I just got the will to survive. I’m not a quitter. Quit is not in my vocabulary.”

Train Crash Kills 7 In Philadelphia

Officials in Philadelphia are attempting to find the cause of a train crash Tuesday night that left 7 people dead and more than 200 injured.

Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter said that seven cars of the Amtrak train bound for New York jumped the tracks and that over 200 people are in area hospitals.  Eight victims are in critical condition.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the train was going 100 miles per hour at the time it jumped the tracks at a curve, more than twice the speed limit for that portion of track.  Investigators are focusing on that excessive speed as the cause of the derailment.

That belief was backed by an Amtrak official who told a conference call that excessive speed was a focus of the investigation.

Mayor Nutter said the “black box” data recorder of the train has been recovered and is in the hands of the National Transportation Safety Board.

The President issued a statement sharing his shock about the accident.

“Michelle and I were shocked and deeply saddened to hear of the derailment,” Mr. Obama said in a written statement. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of those we lost last night, and to the many passengers who today begin their long road to recovery.”

Witnesses say the crash was very violent with people being thrown around the rail cars.  Andrew Brenner told the WSJ that seats were ripped from the floor.

“I got thrown like a penny,” said Mr. Brenner, who said he weighs 250 pounds. “That is how violent this was.”

Car Crashed Into Church During Easter Service

Over 200 people attending an Easter concert in Florida were stunned when a car smashed through the side of the church building leaving 21 injured.

Second Haitian Baptist Church was preparing for their final Easter event of the day around 8 p.m. Sunday when a car slammed through the brick outer wall of the building and rammed through several rows of pews before coming to a stop.

Fort Myers police say the car’s driver claimed the brakes in the vehicle failed as she was trying to find a place to park for the event.  Officials are calling the incident “an unfortunate traffic accident.”

The congregation was seated and waiting for the concert to begin when the car came through the wall.  Members of the church manually lifted the vehicle and then used car jacks to lift the car off people who were trapped beneath it.

Lee Memorial Health Systems reported 18 people were taken to area hospitals and none required surgery.

Lack Of Deaths In Chicago Metro Accident Called “A Miracle”

A transportation expert says that Monday’s accident involving a Chicago Transit Authority train at O’Hare International Airport could have caused multiple deaths and injuries if it had happened later in the day.

The train was driven by a sleepy operator who investigators suspect fell asleep at the controls.  The train crashed through a barrier, over a platform and then rocketed up an escalator before coming to a stop.

DePaul University professor Joseph Schwieterman said that it was “a miracle that nobody died.”

“A train running up a (crowded) escalator could have been a worst case scenario,” Schwieterman told Fox News. “When pedestrians are hit by a train, it is usual fatal.”

He also said that while many of the passengers suffered injuries, they were lucky that the train jumped the tracks instead of crashing into a concrete barrier at the end of the platform.

“That was a lucky break,” he said. “A train hitting a wall at … high speed could easily have been fatal for many.”

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

Pot Related Car Accidents Up 300 Percent

A new research study from Columbia University shows that fatal car accidents involving marijuana have tripled in the last ten years.

One of the co-authors of the study, Dr. Guohua Li, said that currently one in nine drivers involved in fatal crashes would test positive for marijuana.

“If this trend continues, in five or six years non-alcohol drugs will overtake alcohol to become the most common substance involved in deaths related to impaired driving,” Dr. Li said.

The study comes on the heels of states such as Colorado legalizing marijuana for use by the public.  Alcohol related traffic fatalities held steady at 40 percent throughout the decade but drug related deaths climbed from 16 percent in 1999 to 28 percent in 2010.  The scientists fear more legalization could continue to drive up the rate of drug related crashes.

“If a driver is under the influence of alcohol, their risk of a fatal crash is 13 times higher than the risk of the driver who is not under the influence of alcohol,” Li told Breitbart. “But if the driver is under the influence of both alcohol and marijuana, their risk increases to 24 times that of a sober person.”

Evangelist Bayless Conley Critically Injured In Boating Accident

Global evangelist and Southern California pastor Bayless Conley was critically injured in a boating accident on Catalina Island Monday night.

Conley has undergone surgery that his doctors termed as “successful.”  He remains in critical condition along with one of the other passengers on the boat.  A third person suffered minor injuries.

Local emergency staff says Conley and the others were on a boat that crashed full speed into The Isthmus near Two Harbors on Catalina Island.  The report did not say who was piloting the craft or where the victims were on the boat at the time of the accident.

“Please join us as we pray and trust God for a full and speedy recovery for Pastor Bayless and his friends,” Cottonwood Church said in a statement.  The church asked for people to pray for comfort for them and their families at this time.

A post on his television ministry’s website said Conley was responsive to doctors but that “the next 24-48 hours are critical” for his recovery.