Citation

No Author(s) Listed. Accid. Investig. Q. 2007; (45): 26-41.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Accident Reconstruction Journal)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper describes and discusses a multiple vehicle accident that occurred near Hampshire, Illinois on October 1, 2003. In the accident, a Freightliner tractor-trailer chassis and cargo container combination unit struck the rear of a 25-passenger specialty bus while approaching a toll plaza on Interstate 90. As both vehicles moved forward, the bus struck the rear of a pickup truck, which was pushed into the rear of a conventional tractor-box trailer. The pickup truck was then struck by another tractor-trailer. Eight bus passengers were fatally injured. An additional 12 bus passengers as well as the 3 of the involved drivers received minor-to-serious injuries. The National Transportation Safety Board determined that the probable cause of the accident was the failure of the Freightliner truck driver, who was operating his vehicle too fast for traffic conditions, to slow for traffic. Contributing to the accident was a traffic backup created by vehicles stopping for the toll plaza. The structural incompatibility between the Freightliner tractor-trailer and the specialty bus contributed to the severity of the accident.