Bus headed for casino fails to stop for traffic light

It may seem odd to many of us in Massachusetts, that cars all have seat belts whereas buses do not, except for the driver. We hop on and off school buses, tour buses and city buses and place our safety in the hands of the bus driver.

That safety was endangered recently when a commercial passenger bus, headed for a casino, ran a traffic light and was involved in a bus accident with injuries.

According to news sources, the casino bus began its trip in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and was heading for Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut. Reportedly, the bus approached a red traffic light at the corner of Route 7A and Routes 7 and 20 in Lenox and did not stop.

When the bus driver, a 68-year-old man, ran the stop light, the bus struck a car and that car struck two other cars which were stopped at the red light.

The injuries at the crash were suffered by the driver of one of the cars. The 53-year-old woman from Pittsfield was treated for minor injuries. There were no injuries reported to the 29 passengers on the bus, or to the bus driver. The bus passengers were transferred to another bus, and continued their journey.

The accident could have been worse, and thankfully it was not. The weight disparity between a bus and car is significant, and any crash can inflict worse damage on the car and its passengers compared to the bus and its passengers.

The bus driver was given a citation for running a red light.

In this case, the injured 53-year-old woman could hold the bus company liable for her personal injury. It seems clear that it was the bus driver’s negligence that caused her injury.

Source: The Berkshire Eagle, “Casino-bound bus runs red light, touches off multi-car collision in Lenox,” Clarence Fanto, May 9, 2012