Hurricane Rita: 20 Killed in Evacuation Bus Fire
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James Joyner | Friday, September 23, 2005 |
As many as twenty elderly people were killed when their bus caught fire attempting to evacuate for Hurricane Rita.
Up to 20 Dead in Fire Aboard Evacuees’ Bus (AP)
A bus carrying elderly evacuees from Hurricane Rita caught fire early Friday on a gridlocked highway near Dallas, killing as many as 20 people, authorities said. “Deputies were unable to get everyone off the bus,” spokesman Don Peritz said. “We believe it’s going to be closer to 20 fatalities.
The bus, carrying about 45 people, was engulfed with flames, causing a 17-mile backup on Interstate 45, already heavily congested with evacuees from the Gulf Coast. The bus was reduced to a blackened, burned-out shell, surrounded by numerous police cars and ambulances.
There were indications that oxygen used by elderly evacuees could have had a role in the fire, Peritz said. There were a series of explosions, apparently from the oxygen equipment, he said. “The early indications are this is a mechanical issue. The driver did survive the accident,” Peritz said. “It’s my understanding he went back on the bus several times to try to evacuate people.”
Horrific.
About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.
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This might be the sneak preview of the tregedy that awaits people, who will not make it out of Rita's way.
Leave NOW, if you still in hurricane area.
George Bush hates old people.
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