Bus Explodes on Dallas Highway; Up to 24 Dead

Foxnews ^ | Sept 23, 2005 | AP

[I still care]

WILMER, Texas — A bus carrying elderly evacuees from Hurricane Rita caught fire and then was rocked by explosions early Friday on a gridlocked highway near Dallas, killing as many as 24 people, authorities said. "Deputies were unable to get everyone off the bus," Dallas County Sheriff's Department spokesman Don Peritz said. He said he believed 24 people were killed, but added that that number could change.

The bus was carrying 43 people who had been traveling since Thursday from a nursing home or managed-care facility near Houston, Peritz said. Early indications were that the bus caught fire because of mechanical problems, setting off passengers' oxygen tanks, Peritz said. He said the brakes may have been on fire.

The bus was engulfed with flames, causing a lengthy backup on Interstate 45 already congested with evacuees from the Gulf Coast.

The bus was reduced to a blackened, burned-out shell, with large blue tarps covering the bodies. About 20 emergency vehicles surrounded it. Tina Jones, a nurse from Ennis, was driving behind the bus when she saw it start to smoke and pull to the side of the road.

"I saw the smoke and then there was an explosions," said Jones, who pulled over and helped treat cuts and bruises. She said she saw at least six dead bodies. "I'll probably go home and have a good cry," she said.

Peritz said the driver survived and helped emergency workers try to save people, but that there wasn't much time before explosions ended rescue efforts. It's my understanding he went back on the bus several times to try to evacuate people," he said. No emergency workers suffered major injuries in the blast.

[I still care]

On Fox they were saying there were several oxygen tanks on the bus for patient use, that may have exploded and help cause this devastation.

I thought back to the patients who were NOT evacuated from St Rita's that all died.

[Sometimes A River]

Has any media managed to blame Bush for this?

I skimmed several articles from various sources, and nothing yet...

[combat_boots]

May the Lord God Almighty bless their souls.

[manwiththehands]

I heard (on Fox this morning?) that it might have been started by someone smoking on the bus. Did anyone else hear this?

[manwiththehands]

Oh, the obligatory "it's Bush's fault". Sorry. Forgot.

[MamaB]

I do not think they would have allowed that around people on oxygen. Just my $.02.

[I still care]

They are not supposed to. You never know though, in the rush of evacuation, what an elderly patient may attempt to do.

[MD_Willington_1976]

Saw that this morning, pretty sad stuff...

[LizardQueen]

I do not think they would have allowed that around people on oxygen. Just my $.02.

They had to restrain my sister-in-laws father when they caught him trying to cut a hole in his oxygen mask for a cigarette! He fought them like a cornered badger when they tried to stop him, too.

LQ

[NavyCanDo]

"Has any media managed to blame Bush for this?"


The liberals on the other side of my office cubical wall sure are.

They are ignoring the fact that except for a few tragic accidents which will happen when you put 1.5 million people on the road, the people in that slow moving traffic will survive the hurricane. They may be angry, They may or may not have a place to go back to, but they will survive.

In Texas:
No tens of thousands of people stuck in a filthy superdome.
No reports of looting.(Mayer says looting will not be tolerated)

[I still care]

[Salvation]

May they rest in peace, and may their families be consoled.

[Sometimes A River]

So what is their rationale? Bush didn't organize the evacuation well enough?

[ladiesview61]

Wow, that's very sad...everyone seems to be in such a panic mode right now. God bless these old folks and I pray they didn't suffer.

[minerboy]

I live in the Dallas area and the local news is reporting that the bus exploded because the brakes caught on fire, and as the fire spread, it caused oxygen tanks to spark and ignite.

[Who dat?]

He said the brakes may have been on fire.

Brakes have been known to catch on fire but it’s usually the result of riding the brakes down a long grade with a heavy load. I don’t recall Houston having any long grades 5/6/7+ percent grades and a bus generally isn’t all that heavy. Not like a tanker or a truck hauling steel plate.

Of course, they’ve also been known to catch fire if they get hot and you have a hub slinging oil. But that’s one of those pre-trip items you’re supposed to look for.

Also don't recall brake fires being particularly catastrophic, though I guess if the drum and wheel got hot enough to catch the tube/tire on fire it could be.

[NavyCanDo]

"So what is their rationale? Bush didn't organize the evacuation well enough?"

Yep, that's what they are saying. On the lines of see, Bush can't even evacuate his own state without messing it up... Ahhh forget them, I stay away from arguing politics at work. It aint worth it.

[Ursus arctos horribilis]

MSM having orgasms over O2 tanks fueling an explosion. O2 is a fire accelerate, it is not a fuel. In a O2 rich environment, most combustible materials burn at an accelerated speed. It is the same situation that incinerated the astronauts in the space capsule on the launch pad.

[maryz]

The liberals on the other side of my office cubical wall sure are.

I was thinking how different the coverage would be if Kerry were president. Well, first off, would presidential involvement even be considered necessary by the media? Beyond that, I would bet there'd be a lot of fawning about what a great job everyone was doing in difficult circumstances.

Slightly off topic maybe: does anyone -- maybe someone in Hurricane Alley -- recall an evacuation from a major city, perhaps in the days before cable news? I'm in Boston myself, so we've never had one up here. One caller to a talk show (who said he worked in some related field) said it would be impossible to evacuate any major city (I assume with population of at least 500,000 or 600,00) in less than five days.

The Boston Herald today had a piece on Boston's "evacuation plan." Boston submitted it to experts, who basically found it laughable -- all vague goals and no specifics on implementation -- not even for notification. (I've seen how Boston handles major snowstorms; if we ever have an evacuation situation, I plan to commend my soul to God!)

[jwpjr]

re: I do not think they would have allowed that around people on oxygen.

After two or three days on that bus there was probably more than one smoker who was desperate enough to chance it. It only takes one small source of combustion to start an oxygen-fed fire to spreading at a very rapid rate. Must point out here though, oxygen is neither flammable or explosive. It supports combustion, but is not itself a source of combustion.

God bless them, especially those who might have survived but have suffered burns.