Paul Thomson, a Roanoke Personal Injury Lawyer offers insight into the tragic Carrollton bus DUI accident in 1988.
In 1988, one of the most horrific drunk driving DUI accidents in America occurred. On a Saturday night after a fun-filled day at Ohio’s Kings Island Amusement Park, a church bus was traveling on Interstate 71 in Carrollton, Kentucky. Sixty-six passengers, mostly children, and a driver were headed home in the dark. With so many children on the bus after a day at the park riding roller coasters and eating fair food, I imagine most of those souls were fast asleep. As the clock neared 11:00 pm, the bus rounded a curve on the interstate and collided head-on with a black Toyota pick-up driven by drunken-driver, Larry Mahoney.
A Night of Casual Drinking with Friends Leads to DUI Accident Tragedy
Investigators concluded that then 34 year old, Larry Mahoney had spent the same evening at a local bar with friends and later at the home of some friends, drinking. When Larry tried to leave the residence, his friends took his keys because he was too drunk to drive. After some negotiation, they reluctantly returned his keys to him after he promised to go straight home. Sadly, Larry did not go home. Instead, he went to a nearby convenience store where he bought a 12 pack of beer. After leaving the store, he drove 2 and 3 tenths miles in the wrong direction on Interstate 71 before crashing into the bus.
DUI Aftermath
The Kentucky State Police who investigated the crash scene said that the black pickup truck struck the front passenger side of the bus at full speed, presumably 55mph or in excess of the posted speed. The bus was also traveling at a similar rate of speed. The impact caused the bus’s suspension to break. The leaf spring was also thrown backward into the bus’s gas tank which was mounted just behind the front door. The front door (only 1 of the 2 exits on the bus) was disabled due to the suspension/frame failure. It took just over two seconds for bus driver John Pearman, to bring the bus to a full stop. During those few seconds, metal debris dragging on the pavement threw sparks under the bus. In the same instant, the recently filled, now punctured fuel tank began to pour highly flammable gasoline from it’s hull onto the roadway. This sparked an intense fire under and in the passenger compartment of the bus.
Heroic Bus Driver Tries in Vain to Save Lives After DUI Crash
Survivors reported that driver John Pearman was quick to try to douse the flames with a small fire extinguisher located under his seat. His efforts were in vain as the fire quickly spread throughout the bus fueled by the flammable material used for seat fillers and seat coverings. Due to the highly combustible materials used in construction of the bus, the fire spread quickly. The interior temperature reached an estimated 2,000 degrees in mere minutes. Investigators reported that the temperature inside the bus was hot enough to melt the paint off the ceiling of the vehicle.
Ironically, it wasn’t the DUI crash that caused the severe injuries and fatalities, it was the dangerous, cheap materials used to construct the bus as well as a design focused on maximizing profit over safety.
The materials used to construct the inside of the bus were not it’s only downfall. The bus’s inherent design was as well. To maximize passenger occupancy, extra wide seats were installed on the bus, allowing for the aisle to measure just 12 inches wide. As mentioned earlier, there were only 2 exits on the bus, the front door and a rear exit door. The rear exit was blocked by another passenger seat that extended partially in front of the door as well as coolers that were stacked in the aisle for the trip. Sixty-seven people tried to escape the hellish interior of the bus as flames engulfed the capsule. One woman, who was described as small in stature, was able to escape through a window. She was the only adult that survived. Just six people exited the bus with minor injuries. Thirty-four survivors were treated for serious and critical injuries at local hospitals. Most of the injuries included severe burns that required lengthy hospital stays and numerous surgeries to treat. One survivor was forced to undergo a leg amputation due to her burn injuries. Twenty-seven people perished on the bus due to burns and inhaling toxic fumes. The coroner determined that no one on the bus sustained injuries from the collision that would have killed them. Among the 67 people, no one had broken bones, fractured skulls, or head injuries that would have resulted from the impact of the initial accident. Every single victim of that crash died of smoke inhalation and/or being burned alive.
Among the 67 people, no one had broken bones, fractured skulls, or head injuries that would have resulted from the impact of the DUI accident. Every single victim of that DUI crash died of smoke inhalation and/or being burned alive.”
Most of the families reached an out of court settlement for varying amounts depending on future medical care for their injuries and lost earnings for estates. One family, who lost their 10 year old daughter in the crash offered Ford a different kind of deal. Saying they wouldn’t be able to go on with their lives if this happened to another family, they offered to settle their case for $1.00. Ford was asked to recall all of the same model buses and retrofit them with gas tank cages to prevent puncture during an accident. They were also asked to create additional exit routes, and install new windows that could be opened wide enough for someone to use as an exit. Ford declined their offer saying that they would not want consumers to think they’d be getting a “brand new bus” out of the deal. Pure. Corporate. Greed.
DUI Accident Exposes “Profits over Safety” Mentality
The bus was designed with little or no regard to human safety. The only thing the manufacturer considered in constructing this bus, originally built to transport children, was profits. And profits were the only thing being considered the day this bus was assembled on March 23, 1977, with just nine days to go before more stringent federal safety regulations would go in effect on April 1, 1977. In fact, investigators found that the bus’s frame had holes pre-drilled so that the gas tank enclosure could be installed. But because this particular Ford B700 school bus beat the April 1, 1977 deadline, it was not required to have the gas tank cage installed and was assembled without one. So, Ford knew it was selling a dangerous bus. It is probably safe to assume that the gas tank enclosures were available and ready to be installed. The only downside to the installation of the safety feature would have been cost. A minimal cost compared to the lives lost on that tragic night.
About the Author: DUI Accident Lawyer Paul Thomson of The Thomson Law Firm
Paul Thomson, an experienced personal injury attorney in Roanoke, VA has represented victims of personal injury and families who have lost loved ones due to wrongful death in Virginia and West Virginia for the past 26 years. During his career, he has obtained many notable settlements including, but not limited to, a $21 million dollar settlement for an injured cyclist hit by a bread truck, a $1.3 million dollar recovery for a client who lost eyesight in one eye due to a defective retractable dog leash, and a $2 million dollar settlement for the family of a man killed in a trucking accident. Read more about his case results here.
