Dallas, Texas — Seven people have been hospitalized following an accident involving a DART (Dallas Area Rapid Transit) bus on Interstate 35E this morning (12/23/2013).
The accident, which occurred shortly after 6:00 a.m., involved a total of 5 vehicles—a red Dodge Caravan, a DART bus, and 3 other cars. The bus was heading northbound on I-35E when the accident occurred near the 8th Street bridge. Four passengers from the DART bus, and three from the Caravan were transported to area hospitals for treatment of their injuries. According to initial reports, DART has already implied that the Dodge Caravan was at-fault for cutting in front of the bus and hitting the barrier wall. I am always skeptical when issues of liability are reported so early, as that is a tactic I have seen COUNTLESS times by trucking and bus companies. Luckily, DART buses are equipped with video cameras which should help tremendously with the investigation.
Does anyone remember the DART bus accident from the Dallas North Tollway a year or so ago? The video from that accident was instrumental in determining that the bus driver was clearly negligent for the accident. (See that DART dashcam video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JX_WH8NslY). While I can only hope that today’s accident was not as bad, we just won’t know much until TxDOT (or a victim’s lawyer) completes a full investigation.
