A Greyhound bus traveling from New York City to Washington, D.C. caught fire early Friday morning along the New Jersey Turnpike.
Reports indicate that at least one passenger was injured.
“We Could Have All Died”
The June 15th incident occurred around 5:15 a.m., as the bus was travelling southbound on the turnpike in Carneys Point Township.
The Greyhound bus was approaching the Delaware Memorial Bridge when the fire broke out at the rear of the vehicle.
“I just heard somebody scream, ‘Flames!’ And everybody started screaming,” one passenger told WABC-TV. “People were trampling over each other, people were climbing over the seats.”
“We could have all died…You could see the fire going up and up and up, and people were screaming,” another said.
Passenger Injured While Escaping Burning Bus
Fortunately, all those aboard the bus survived.
One passenger was reportedly injured while escaping the blaze, though it’s not clear how seriously.
The bus was reduced to a charred shell, destroying much of the passengers’ personal property, including cash, laptops, medicine, and baby formula.
Greyhound Passengers Stranded for 4 Hours
Passengers took refuge at a nearby rest area, where they were stranded for 4 hours as they waited for a replacement bus to arrive.
Though strangers were willing to lend money for the purchase of food, there was no formula on site for one passenger’s 5-month old child.
It’s not yet known what caused the fire.
A Greyhound spokesperson told WABC-TV that the vehicle had been checked just before starting Friday’s trip but did not provide the date of its last comprehensive inspection.
30 Passengers Injured When Greyhound Bus Collides with 18-Wheeler in Maryland
June 15th was not a good day for Greyhound.
Roughly 15 minutes earlier, another Greyhound bus – also traveling to Washington, D.C. – rear-ended an 18-wheeler along Interstate 70 near Hagerstown, Maryland.
30 passengers suffered injuries when they were thrown forward in their seats due to the force of the crash. All were taken to Meritus Medical Center in Hagerstown.
The Maryland State Police have designated the Greyhound driver as the at-fault party in the accident.
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Our Undefeated Bus Accident Lawyers have extensive experience representing clients against Greyhound and its legal team, having won the largest verdicts and settlements in the company’s history.
Most recently, for example, we negotiated a $6 million settlement on behalf of several passengers who were injured after a Greyhound driver feel asleep at the wheel.
Greyhound agreed to settle the case after our attorneys obtained the first-ever court-ordered sleep study of a commercial driver in Texas. The test revealed that the bus driver suffered from undiagnosed, obstructive sleep apnea, a disorder that greatly increased the risk that he would fall asleep while driving.
The settlement holds the record as the #1 Largest Settlement in Greyhound’s History involving a fatigued driver.
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The #1 Largest Verdict in the History of Greyhound
Our Bus Accident Attorneys also won an $18.8 million verdict – # 1 largest verdict in Greyhound’s corporate history – on behalf of two Greyhound passengers who were injured in a rollover crash that occurred while their bus was travelling on icy roads.
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Our Undefeated Bus Accident Attorneys are investigating the recent incidents involving Greyhound and will post an update should new information become available.
Having won more than $1 billion for our clients, our attorneys have the resources and knowledge to go up against the largest commercial carriers in the world and ensure that our clients and their families receive the maximum compensation possible for all of their injuries and losses.
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