Bus Accident Involves Musicians: Willie Nelson Cancels Shows
It’s been a horrible year for bus crashes throughout the country this year, with a large number of them happened in Texas. The problem is so bad, The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has been conducting a serious crackdown on bus companies for most of the year, with inspectors having conducted targeted inspections of 250 companies with questionable records on safety. Thus far in 2013, they’ve shut down more than dozen bus companies, and labeled half of them “imminent hazards.”
The problem isn’t just public charter buses, however. Lately, there seems to be a spate of accidents involving tour buses for musicians. Just a few weeks ago, country music star Jason Aldean’s tour bus ran into and killed a man who police claim “walked out into the middle of the roadway,” right in front of the Aldean bus as the bus was traveling northbound on US 41 North.
Recently, there was another accident, this time involving country music legend Willie Nelson’s tour bus, which plowed into a bridge pillar as it traveled along an East Texas highway during a rainstorm.
According to reports by the Texas Department of Public Safety, the accident occurred at around 3:30 a.m. on Interstate 30 near Sulphur Springs, which is about 75 miles northeast of Dallas. At the time of the accident, seven people were on the bus, as it traveled west in heavy rains and high winds, when the driver lost control and hit the bridge pillar. There have also been reports of ice on the roadway.
In the wake of the accident, three members of the band were hospitalized with what have been described as relatively minor injuries, including one with an injured ankle and another with a cracked rib. Willie Nelson himself was not on the bus. Willie Nelson and Family subsequently postponed several tour dates after the accident.
Bus accidents are becoming all too common, and the FMSCA is hoping to stem the tide of bus companies and drivers who are operating unsafely. According to an FMCSA report, the number of bus fatalities hit its lowest point in 2009, with 254 dead in 221 fatal crashes, but the number has been rising since.
Bus accidents always require thorough investigations to find out exactly what happened. While preliminary assessments blame wet or icy roads, there is a possibility the bus had mechanical and/or design failures that made the accident more likely. When bus accidents change lives and cause the victims to incur large medical bills, the facts must come out. If you or a loved one have been injured or killed in an accident involving any kind of bus, please contact the Texas Bus Accident Injury Lawyer at Hill Law Firm as soon as possible to protect your rights.