More than two dozen people went to the hospital on June 10 following a five-vehicle crash that included two school buses. The accident happened around 4 p.m. on Winsted Road in Torrington after a pickup truck that witnesses said was speeding crashed into a Jeep. This resulted in a chain reaction in which the Jeep hit a bus and that bus hit another bus and a car. The road was closed for more than five hours for the investigation and cleanup, reopening around 9:30 p.m.
The 22 children on the two buses were all sent to an area hospital, though none was seriously injured. One driver had to be airlifted to Hartford Hospital, and five other people were injured as well. The children were all released from Charlotte Hungerford Hospital shortly after admittance. The investigation into the cause of the accident was still underway the following day.
The people who are injured in an accident that is attributable to the actions of a motorist may consider filing personal injury claims. A civil case is different from a criminal case, and the outcome of one does not affect the other. This means that injured parties may file claims even if no criminal charges are filed. For such claims to be successful, the plaintiffs would likely need to prove negligence on the part of the responsible party, such as if the driver was speeding.
An award granted from a personal injury claim may cover things like medical expenses, lost income and any needed long-term rehabilitation. While filing a claim may be particularly important in the case of an uninsured motorist, an injured person may want to do so even if the at-fault driver has insurance, especially if his or her accident-related expenses are higher than what could be gained through an insurance settlement.
Source: WFSB, “Torrington crash involving buses remains under investigation”, Joseph Wenzel IV and Tina Martin, June 11, 2014
