HIGHWAY ACCIDENT REPORT--COLLISION OF ISLE OF WIGHT COUNTY, VIRGINIA, SCHOOLBUS WITH CHESAPEAKE AND OHIO RAILWAY COMPANY FREIGHT TRAIN, STATE ROUTE 615, NEAR CARRSVILLE, VIRGINIA, APRIL 12, 1984

About 3:25 p.m. on April 12, 1984, a westbound Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company freight train traveling about 49 mph struck the front right side of a northbound 1980 Isle of Wight County schoolbus stopped at a railroad grade crossing on State Route 615 near Carrsville, Virginia. The weather was clear, the sun was to the schoolbus driver's left, and the train's whistle and bell were sounding before the collision. There were crossbucks on both sides of the single track crossing. The driver's sight distance in the direction of the approaching train was about 1/3 of a mile. The 64-passenger schoolbus body separated from the chassis at impact, rotated counterclockwise 180 degrees, rolled over 270 degrees to the right, and came to rest on its left side about 80 feet southwest of the crossing. Of the 26 school-aged bus passengers, two were injured seriously, one had moderate injuries, and the other 23 sustained minor injuries. The busdriver was seriously injured and died five days after the accident. The train crew was not injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the schoolbus driver's failure to stop before driving onto the railroad crossing to determine that it was safe to proceed.

• Corporate Authors:

  National Transportation Safety Board

  Bureau of Accident Investigation, 800 Independence Avenue, SW
  Washington, DC  United States  20594
• Publication Date: 1985-1-25

Media Info

• Features: Appendices; Figures;
• Pagination: 51 p.

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash causes; Crash reports; Freight trains; Railroad grade crossings; School bus drivers; School buses
• Subject Areas: Freight Transportation; Highways; Public Transportation; Railroads; Safety and Human Factors; I80: Accident Studies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00452371
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
• Report/Paper Numbers: NTSB/HAR-85/02, HS-038 775
• Files: HSL, TRIS, USDOT
• Created Date: Jan 31 1986 12:00AM