November 13, 2014
Being involved in a car accident can be a very stressful situation. Most of the time the accidents are not severe and there are several steps the driver of the vehicle(s) can take to make the crash less stressful for themselves and other drivers on the roadway.
- Move out of the roadway. If the drivers are able to move their cars, move to the side of the roadway, or a parking lot.
This will help ensure the people, and vehicles, involved an an accident are away from other moving vehicles.
- Call 911.When a driver has been involved in a crash and can safely use their cell phone, call Police. Dispatch will
ask the caller several questions to determine the basic information the responding officers will need to know when
they arrive. This will also help the dispatcher determine if EMS will need to respond for a medical emergency.
- Get a license plate number and description of the driver or passengers. This will help police locate the vehicle and
people inside the car if the driver or passengers decide to leave the scene.
- Have your information readily available for officers. Once the driver and passengers of the car(s) involved in an
accident are in a safe location find important information such as insurance cards and drivers' license or other
identifying information and have it in hand when the officers arrive. This small step will save time for the drivers and
officers in clearing up the accident.
- If you have a tow company you would like to use, tell the officers when they arrive. This is another small piece of
information that can save a lot of time on an accident scene. Tow truck drivers that respond to accidents in the City of
Longview have 30 minutes to respond to the scene. The quicker they can get the call, the quicker everyone can be on
their way.
Over the past month two Longview ISD buses have been involved in what appeared to be, at the time, Hit and Run
accidents. However, after Longview Police conducted further investigations they determined that neither incident was in fact a Hit and Run. In the November 12, 2014 accident the driver of the Toyota Tundra was distracted for a moment by his child.
He rolled forward striking the bus in the rear. The bus moved over onto the shoulder, then turned right onto Eden Dr and into a parking lot. The driver of the Tundra couldn't see any damage to the bus ( there was none), so when the bus turned right on Eden, he thought the bus was just going to leave. He went on and took his child to school. When a Longview PD officer contacted him by phone he quickly returned to the scene. No one on the bus, or in the truck, was transported to the hospital.The driver of the Tundra was cited for "Improper Start" and for not having a Drivers License.
In what was initially believed to be a Hit and Run on October 23, 2014, a call came in to the Police Department that a
passenger car struck a school bus in the area of Eastman Road and Cotton Street and fled the scene. Police were able to get a license plate from the caller and as a result track down the vehicle. After further investigation Police determined there was not an accident and there was no damage to either the car or the bus and none was injured in either vehicle
The two accidents were not related to one another.