Augusta County Crash Sends 29 to Hospital

An Augusta County crash sends 29 to hospital. A tour bus crashed into a tractor-trailer on November 17th. The bus was traveling down Interstate 64 when it hit an out of control tractor-trailer or Big Rig that had overturned across the Eastbound lanes. Emergency responders arrived on the scene, believing it to be a mass casualty event. Multiple victims were taken to nearby hospitals for immediate medical attention.

The cleanup of the crash took approximately five hours and shut down I-64 across all lanes through eight exits. Contributing factors to the crash include the icy conditions which came down from the mountain top. The National Weather Service had put out a warning before the crash advising of fog and visibility hovering around zero.

The tour bus, a Silver Linings Tours vehicle, was not able to avoid the tractor-trailer, and the result was that it hit the overturned truck are nearly full force. The truck was transporting mail, which littered the interstate after the crash.

The bus had over 20 passengers. As a result of the impact, the bus ran off of the right shoulder and stopped against a guardrail. Both the truck and bus drivers were taken for serious but not fatal injuries. Of the passengers, 15 were taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center and 14 other passengers when to either Augusta Health or The Sentara Martha Jefferson medical center.

Injuries ranged from severe to minor, but none were life-threatening. Emergency responders were pleased to learn that the mass casualty event they thought they were approaching was only injuries. Crashes on this scale hardly ever come without injuries. While many of these people will require extensive recovery times, there were no fatalities. Other accidents that came as a result of this crash and the low visibility also resulted in only minor injuries with no casualties.

If you were in an accident, you should contact an attorney at Virginia Injury Law for help today.