APPLETON, WI (WTAQ) – Four elderly passengers ranging in age from 71 to 99 years old are being treated for injuries after the bus they were riding on hit the brakes too hard at a red light in Appleton Thursday morning.
Police say the bus carrying residents and staff from a rehabilitation facility was eastbound on Northland Avenue and stopped abruptly at Ballard Road around 10:15 a.m. Appleton Police Captain Todd Freeman says the investigation is focused mainly on what kind of safety restraints were in the vehicle and how they were used.
“What safety devices were on board and to what level they were used is what we’re looking into. So using available safety restraints is the lesson that is learned,” Freeman tells WTAQ News, “The level of restraint for the passengers is what it’s all about. It comes, quite simply, down to physics in that objects in motion are going to stay in motion.”
State Patrol vehicle inspectors will be taking a close look at the bus.
“Their motor vehicle inspectors get involved anytime we have a commercial vehicle or a passenger bus to make sure they give the bus a thorough safety inspection, because there’s a whole ‘nother level of statutes and federal guidelines that motor carriers are required to follow,” Freeman says.
Right now, Freeman says investigators are not completely familiar with what they might be looking at with this particular vehicle.
“This is a conventional school bus that is being leased, is my understanding. There was some sort of retrofitting to accommodate typical equipment and needs of rehabilitation center residents.”
Injuries to the seniors on board are of “varying severity.” A decision on whether criminal charges will be considered will come after inspection of the bus is completed.
