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 southbound on the two-lane road, carrying twenty-six students from Snow Hill Primary School and West Greene Middle School. A Military Distributors, Inc., tractor-trailer carrying produce was traveling north. The second tractor-trailer, carrying grain, was directly behind the southbound school bus and the passenger vehicle was behind the grain truck.
The collision occurred on a curve in US 13, 2.3 miles south of Snow Hill. At approximately 3:20 pm, the driver of the northbound tractor-trailer crossed the center line and struck the school bus. The left side of the school bus was torn off. The tractor-trailer then collided with the southbound tractor-trailer and the passenger vehicle then struck the rear of the southbound tractor-trailer.
Notes
- ^ The number of persons injured or killed is given as both 26 and 34. This article uses the figures as shown in the NTSB report.