Highway Accident Report
| Accident No.: | HWY-98-SH-006 |
| Accident Type: | Sideswipe collision with school bus |
| Location: | Lancaster, Ohio |
| Date and Time: | November 3, 1997; 6:50 a.m. |
| Vehicle 1 (V1): | 1992 Hino straight truck hauling produce |
| Vehicle 2 (V2): | 1986 Bluebird school bus |
| Injuries: | 2 serious, 7 minor injuries |
Accident Description
The truckdriver entered an intersection on a red traffic signal and struck the school bus on its left side. Both vehicles rotated 90 degrees and came to rest within the intersection of Ety Road and North Memorial Drive. The roadway was damp at the time of the accident. (See figure 1.) One of the 10 school bus occupants sustained serious injuries, 7 sustained minor injures, and 2 were uninjured. The truckdriver sustained serious injuries. Postaccident testing revealed the presence of marijuana in the truckdriver's system.
State/Federal Oversight
Ohio has adopted the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations with some variances; none of the variances were pertinent to the carrier or driver at the time of the accident. Following the accident, the Public Utility Commission of Ohio conducted a compliance review of the carrier and found several violations regarding preemployment and random controlled-substance testing, employee checks, and hours of service.
Figure 1. Accident diagram.
Probable Cause
The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the accident was the truckdriver's disregard for the red traffic signal, possibly due to drug impairment.
Adopted: September 17, 2002
