You do not have to suffer from something like dystychiphobia (a fear of accidents) to be interested in accidents. There are numerous ones that happen every single day. Most of them are really simple, with minor damages that appear. However, some are truly shocking. We will mention some that did shock the US. Some are older and some are in more recent memory.
May 14 1988 – Bus Accident
This has been dubbed as the worst ever bus accident in US according to a reputable Las Vegas truck accident lawyer. A former school bus was struck by a drunk driver in a Toyota pick-up. The crash was so strong that it instantly ruptured the bus’ gas tank. In just some minutes the entire bus was covered in flames. 27 passengers died and 34 were severely injured. The official report stated that a lack of highway emergency exits, a gas tank that was fragile, seats flammability and the presence of a cooler blocking the sole exit that was functioning contributed to a high fatality rate in an accident that could have been less serious.
November 29 1991 – Weather Conditions
After a Thanksgiving holiday the winds on the California I-5 went up in speed to 40 mph. A dust storm started and visibility was cut. The result was a huge pile up accident that involved 104 vehicles. This covered 1 highway mile and 4 tractor trailers. 17 people ended up dead and around 150 had serious injuries. Cleaning up the mess took one full day.
July 4 1998 – Storm
This is a relatively sad story. A family and friends were going home on Virginia I-81, a road that saw many accidents because of road conditions. A storm appeared and the car of Kevin Chittum hit a road bump. Then, it hydroplaned and simply sailed across median markings. This led to a collision with a large tractor trailer. The truck driver and all car passengers died after the collision.
February 22 2000 – Temperature Drop
Temperature reached 27 degrees and a strong snowstorm appeared on Virginia’s I-95. One snow inch appeared in only a few minutes. This led to a huge pile up of 117 cars. It was a terrible accident with 31 injured and 1 dead. The rescue and cleanup efforts were massive, involving rescue workers, state police, fire fighters and more. What was amazing is that it just took 12 hours to clean everything.
January 19 2009 – Ice And Snow
Harsh conditions involving snow and ice led to 20 car accidents happening in a single night. The very worst one involved 7 tractor trailers and even 35 cars. 2 people die in that particular accident, 12 were heavily injured and a total of 35 injuries were reported. Road conditions remained harsh.
These are only some of the accidents. It is quite difficult to predict them, especially when referring to those with weather conditions affecting visibility and vehicle traction. It is important to always be on the lookout and to take absolutely all driving precautions so that you can protect yourself from a serious accident.
