Distracted Driving Megabus Accident in Syracuse Kills Four

Four people were killed and more were critically injured when a double-decker Megabus made a wrong turn off a highway and slammed into a low railroad bridge in Syracuse, NY in 2010.

The driver was following a Global Positioning System (GPS) and ignoring signs that his bus would not clear the bridge, and a horrific scene unfolded for the passengers and onlookers in an instant of mayhem.

The bus was carrying 27 people from Philadelphia to Toronto when it crashed into the bridge with a 10' 9" clearance on the Onondaga Lake Parkway. The bus then rolled on its side, tossed passengers around and threw one victim to the ground outside. The front of the bus was crushed into little more than a tangle of wires and broken equipment. Passengers’ possessions lay strewn across the road and under the bridge.

Anapol Schwartz represented a passenger in the Megabus accident. The evidence determined the driver's actions were in violation of company rules and driver training, as he was actively using a GPS despite the fact that GPS devices do not provide low clearance warnings.

When drivers – especially those responsible for dozens of lives – choose to dangerously follow devices instead of using common sense, people get seriously hurt. In this case, four passengers died. Distracted driving is a rampant problem today, and collisions such as the Megabus crash are preventable if properly trained drivers are vigilant on the roadway.