Bus Strikes, Kills Pedestrian at Fort Lauderdale Airport
The Fort Lauderdale Airport is a relatively busy area where there is plenty of opportunity for terrible injuries. Recently, a woman was waiting at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Airport to receive a traveler when she was struck by a large bus.
A report in the Sun-Sentinel says that the woman tripped in the roadway at the airport and a large bus ran over her. The accident, which occurred on May 18th, 2013, caused the four-lane arrivals section of the airport to be shut down for about four hours that day. All cars that were arriving at the airport to pick up travelers were redirected to the departures area, causing hectic traffic at the location.
Witnesses say that the collision happened at about 2:30 p.m. at Terminal 4 in the airport. The woman was with two other people in a dark gray Ford Escape. The vehicle stopped in one of the travel lanes, which is technically illegal. A Broward Sheriff says that the driver should not have stopped the car in the traffic lane. He likened the action to stopping a car in the middle of a highway. The investigators are still not certain why the driver decided to stop the car in the middle of the lane.
The victim of the accident was a back-seat passenger in the Ford Escape, and exited the vehicle in the middle of the busy traffic lane. She tripped, and a charter bus crushed her as she fell into its path. The private bus was carrying about one-dozen passengers and a driver and all passengers were heading to Miami for a cruise. None of them were injured in the accident.
Investigators say that cars in the travel lanes are never permitted to stop at the airport in this location, and it is illegal for drivers to allow others to get out of the vehicle in these busy lanes. The bus driver is not being held liable for the accident. If anything, the man driving the gray SUV may be help liable for stopping the vehicle and encouraging the woman to get out in moving traffic. If you want more information about bus accidents like this one or need assistance in litigating in a pedestrian accident or airport accident talk to a Fort Lauderdale personal injury attorney at Feingold & Posner today.