16 yrs old student died..

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TweetyBird

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November 9, 2004
By TEARSA SMITH
6 News Reporter

KNOXVILLE (WATE) -- A 16-year-old student at Tennessee School for the Deaf
(TSD), Viola "Marie" Wooten, died Tuesday after she was critically injured
Monday evening when a school van crashed. [ van crashes ]

A total of four students and two staff members from TSD were injured.

The Knoxville Police Department released their names Tuesday. The van was
driven by Valerie Raley, 24. The other staff member, Harriett Simpson, 24,
sat in the front passenger seat. The two passengers behind the driver were
Albani Matthews, 15, and Brittany Jones, 16. The two passengers in the last
seat were Viola Wooten and Ameshia Flint, 17.

The van was headed to Wal-mart about 5:00 p.m. so the students could learn
how to manage their money. But while traveling south on Island Home Pike,
the driver crossed some railroad tracks and lost control after turning to
sign to a student. The van hit a utility pole, flipped over and slid off the
road.

Some passengers were trapped in the van. Crews from the Knoxville Fire
Department used tools to rip off the passenger side door and rescue the
group. Police said everyone in the van was wearing a seat belt.

Police investigators continue conducting interviews about the cause of the
crash. They haven't ruled out speeding as a contributing factor. They have
requested Valerie Raley's driving history.

TSD officials haven't taken any action against Raley. They say they're
waiting on the outcome of the police department's investigation.

The TSD van was a 1998 GMC safari. The Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety gives the Safari an poor overall rating in crash tests and a marginal
score for restraints in the front seat.

TSD officials told 6 News Tuesday that they believe the van was in good
condition.

Wooten died Tuesday morning at UT Medical Center. Staff member Harriett
Simpson remains hospitalized.




oh man i am very sowwy abt that.. *sigh*
 
That is very sad. :( I feel very sorry for the girl's family and friends. Awful!

I hope the injured people recover quickly.

Many states do not allow schools or daycares to use passenger vans or mini-vans anymore because they are too dangerous. They have to use mini-buses instead.
 
Reba said:
That is very sad. :( I feel very sorry for the girl's family and friends. Awful!

I hope the injured people recover quickly.

Many states do not allow schools or daycares to use passenger vans or mini-vans anymore because they are too dangerous. They have to use mini-buses instead.
Click to expand...

Most buses doesn't have seat beats and they need to add them for safety.
 
DVDFreaker said:
Most buses doesn't have seat beats and they need to add them for safety.
Click to expand...
The new mini-buses have high seat backs and seat belts. They have a lower center of gravity than the vans, so they are not as prone to flipping over.

The mini-buses look like those boxey tour buses.
 
I've been following up with the news on-line since Monday night -- because I attended that school. This is very sad that a life is lost like this way. No, I didn't get to know Marie but I know the woman with long blonde hair interpreting in the video clip at the site provided by Reba. Julie was my interpreter in college and I sort of had crush on her. She is a librarian at the school now.

When I was still a student at TSD, they had at least ten vans -- some of the vans were so old that some of the windows flew off. TSD did have two school buses (little bigger than mini-buses) but they were used for long-distance trips. The older bus (built in the 1950s or 1960s) was broken down and left sitting in the parking lot for years. They used the second one that was built in the 1970's. From reading articles in recent months, it seems that TSD has been borrowing school buses run by the Knox County (Tenn.) schools nearby for long-distance trips.

I'm not so sure if the state of Tennessee can afford buying school buses for TSD now that the state is sort of cash-strapped.
 
...the driver crossed some railroad tracks and lost control after turning to
sign to a student. The van hit a utility pole, flipped over and slid off the
road.
Click to expand...
Very strange accident. If the driver stopped before crossing the tracks, it doesn't seem that the van was going over the tracks very fast. I wonder what caused the van to flip over at a slow speed?
 
The TSD van was a 1998 GMC safari. The Insurance Institute for Highway
Safety gives the Safari an poor overall rating in crash tests and a marginal
score for restraints in the front seat.
Click to expand...

thats something bothers me.. that's a reason why he died cuz they're in poor crash rating test.. and i'm wondering why TSD choose a poor crash rating test vans.... hmm? that's a good excuse to sue the TSD for that reason on buying poor crash rating.. since its school's responsibility to get a good quility safety vans..

Anyway I pray things go well.. and its so sad.. it only happens once a while :(
 
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