February 4, 2015- Chesterfield, VA
A crash between a school bus and a car claimed the life of 26-year-old Noel R. Santos, husband and father of three, early Tuesday morning.
Mr. Santos, a resident of the nearby Creekpointe apartment complex, was turning left into the northbound lanes of Old Hundred Road when a Chesterfield County school bus struck the driver’s side of Mr. Santos’ white Toyota Corolla.
The impact of the crash pushed the car some distance, wedging the Corolla underneath the bus. While Paramedics responded quickly to the scene and a Med-Flight helicopter dispatched, Mr. Santo died at the scene before he could be transported.
The occupants of the school bus – the driver and four elementary students – were not harmed in the crash. At the time of the crash, the bus was traveling south on Old Hundred Road en route to the Center-Based Gifted Program at Greenfield.
Mr. Santos is remembered by loved ones as devoted husband and father. According to his brother-in-law Alex Fuentes, Mr. Santos was heading to work at Wells Fargo at the time of the crash, even though it was his day off.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, school bus accidents account for 37% of bus fatalities, which is the highest rate within that category. However, fatal accidents involving school busses are rare in Virginia.
According to the Department of Motor Vehicles, an average of 3.7 fatal crashes occurred involving buses and other vehicles or pedestrians in the Commonwealth between 2008 and 2014. Of those 26 fatal crashes, which claimed the lives 29 people, only two school bus occupants (both drivers) were killed over the seven-year period.
During this unimaginable time, consulting an experienced and compassionate wrongful death attorney can make all the difference. Virginia law allows for the awarding of damages for sorrow, mental anguish, and solace; compensation for reasonably expected loss of income of the decedent; expenses for the care, treatment, hospitalization of the decedent; reasonable funeral expenses; and punitive damages for willful or wanton misconduct.
If you have lost a loved one as a result of a bus accident, determining who is at fault requires thorough, diligent investigation by a professional you can trust is on your side. Whether a bus accident is caused by the negligence of a fatigued or intoxicated driver; is the inevitable result of inadequate training, improper employment screening, poorly maintained equipment; or something else entirely, the attorneys at ReidGoodwin will work tirelessly to ensure justice for your loved one.