School Bus Accident
On January 12, 2007, seventeen Pennsbury High School students were injured when a school bus veered into a group of students as they left school. The bus "jumped a curb outside one of the school buildings, drove over a sidewalk, barreled down an access road, mowed down a fence and slammed head-on into the retaining wall." All injured students required hospitalization for their injuries. The incident received nationwide media coverage.
Ashley Zauflik, the most seriously injured student, suffered a fractured pelvis, internal bleeding and a crushed left leg, which later had to be amputated above the knee. She was released from the hospital on February 22. All other students injured in the accident have returned to school.
The NTSB announced they had "not found any major mechanical errors with the school bus," however did note that the brakes were out of adjustment. The vehicle, a Thomas Saf-T-Liner MVP-ER school bus, was involved in a similar accident in 1994.
On March 13, 2007, Falls Township police concluded that the school bus driver slammed on the gas pedal instead of the brake. The driver was not driving his usual vehicle, and "the accelerator of the replacement bus was close in shape and location to the brake in the bus he normally drove." The school bus driver remains on paid leave, and officials have said charges will not be filed. The school bus driver disagrees with the results of the investigation, claiming it was mechanical failure, and his attorney intends to "conduct his own investigation of the crash." The results of the NTSB's investigation will take 6–12 months to complete. A lawyer representing Ashley Zauflik indicated a civil lawsuit would be filed.
Two days after police announced the results of their investigation, a fire damaged two Pennsbury school buses parked outside a school district garage. School district officials said it was too "speculative" to connect the two events, however they also deemed the fire "suspicious." Fire investigators later concluded the fire was intentionally set.
Read more about this topic: Pennsbury High School
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