Bus driver acquitted for fatal New York bus accident

In a recent criminal trial, a 60-year-old Megabus driver was acquitted of criminally negligent homicide charges stemming from a 2010 New York bus accident that resulted in the deaths of four passengers.

Though he is not being held criminally responsible for these wrongful deaths, family members of the deceased victims have already filed civil lawsuits against the bus company, the bus driver and others who may have contributed to the fatal bus accident. Those lawsuits were delayed pending the outcome of the criminal trial.

The bus accident took place in September of 2010 when the Megabus, with 29 passengers on board, stopped at a bus terminal in Syracuse while en route from Philadelphia to Canada. After missing his exit, the driver was using a GPS device to help him find his way back to the bus station. The driver later said that he was unfamiliar with the road that he was on.

While trying to locate the station, the bus driver hit a railroad bridge in upstate New York. The collision occurred despite 13 low-bridge warning signs, some of which had flashing yellow lights. Four people died in the bus crash.

This bus accident may have simply been a tragedy waiting to happening. This bus driver was not the first driver to miss the warning signs that the bridge was low. More than 50 vehicles had previously hit the bridge during a 13-year period.

Who do you think is to blame for this New York bus accident? Is it the driver? Is it the city or state for failing to adequately warn drivers of the low bridge? Are the railroad authorities also to blame for the dangerous condition of the railroad bridge?

Source: The Washington Post, “Megabus driver acquitted of criminally negligent homicide in crash that killed 4 in upstate New York,” Feb. 28, 2012