Speed to blame for crash that flipped charter bus carrying college students

Beneke said she fell between two seats on top of another passenger when the bus overturned.

A bus crash overnight in Virginia injured dozens of college students, sending them to the hospital.

The incident is under investigation by the Virginia State Police Motor Carrier Safety team, and the National Transit Safety Board has been notified, Virginia State Police said. One person has been majorly wounded following the crash with the others sustaining minor injuries.

The bus was carrying 50 passengers – many of them students from Virginia Tech and Radford universities and the University of Virginia – when it flipped on a Powhite Parkway ramp in Richmond, said Sgt. Steve Vick, a spokesman for the Virginia State Police.

No fatalities were reported after the bus overturned on an exit ramp just south of Richmond, Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller told The Associated Press.

The driver, Thomas B. Chidester, 58, was charged with reckless driving, Virginia State Police said. The injuries range from bumps and bruises to cuts and contusions. Abbott Trailways confirmed it was taking students back to area campuses after the Thanksgiving weekend.

The passengers were pupils returning to the University of Virginia, Virginia Tech and Radford University, based on law enforcement statement.

The 1981 TMC passenger bus was abandoned when troopers arrived on scene, she said.

No one was seriously hurt but that driver was also ticketed for reckless driving.

Sunday night, November 29th, a motorcoach owned and operated by Abbott Trailways was involved in an accident in Richmond, Virginia. “At this stage of the investigation, the trooper has determined that speed was a factor in the cause of the crash”.

He also said that the company dispatched another bus to help with transportation as soon as they learned of the accident.