At least one person was killed and 19 were injured in an accident involving a school bus and a BMW in Los Angeles on Monday. According to Los Angeles police, a black BMW ran a red light, and broadsided the school bus at an intersection in the Boyle Heights area. The impact of the accident caused the bus to flip over onto its side. A pedestrian, who was crossing the street, was struck and fatally injured.
The school bus had about 43 students of the Roosevelt High School on board. 18 students on the bus were injured, and had to be taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the bus was initially reported to be critically injured, but has now been upgraded to “serious” condition. The remaining students on the bus were not injured in the accident.
Two teenagers in the BMW got out of the car, and began to flee the scene on foot. Fortunately, they were detained by witnesses at the scene until officers arrived. According to the Los Angeles Times, there were three youths in all in the BMW. Two of the teenagers have been arrested, and the third teenager who was injured in the accident, is being treated at a local hospital. Authorities are considering the possibility of filing criminal homicide charges against the three teenagers.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report which indicated that there had been a substantial decline in teen driver-related accidents and fatalities in these accidents between 2004 and 2008. However, Los Angeles bus accident lawyers believe it is highly likely that this decline occurred in large part because of the dismal economic conditions during this period of time. Teenage motorists continue to be a highly at-risk motorist group in the country, with a greater accident rate and risk than any other group.
