Snow Hill school bus collision
| Snow Hill school bus collision | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | May 31, 1985 |
| Location | Snow Hill, North Carolina |
| Statistics | |
| Bus | School bus |
| Vehicles | tractor-trailer (2), automobile |
| Deaths | 7 |
| Injured | 24 |
The Snow Hill School Bus Collision was an vehicle accident that occurred on May 31, 1985 on US 13 near Snow Hill, North Carolina. Four vehicles were involved, including a school bus operated by the Greene County Schools. Six students and one of the drivers were killed. The remaining 24 persons in the accident suffered injuries ranging from minor to critical.
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) determined that the probable cause of the crash was the failure of one of the drivers to keep his vehicle right of the center line. Contributing to that failure was the likelihood of a momentary lapse of attention caused by fatigue or an epileptic seizure.
Details
At the time of the accident, the school bus was carrying twenty-six students from Snow Hill Primary School and West Greene Middle School.
The collision occurred on a curve in US 13 approximately two miles south of Snow Hill. At approximately 3:20 pm, the driver of a northbound Military Distributors, Inc. tractor-trailer crossed the center line and struck the southbound school bus. The left side of the school bus was torn off. The Military Distributors tractor-trailer then collided with a northbound tractor-trailer that had been directly behind the school bus. A passenger vehicle then struck the rear of the northbound tractor-trailer.