Highway Accident Report Motorcoach Run Off The Bridge And Rollover Sherman Texas August 8 2008

About 12:45 a.m. on August 8, 2008, a 56-passenger motorcoach was northbound on U.S. Highway 75 when it was involved in a single-vehicle accident in Sherman, Texas. The motorcoach had left Houston, Texas, about 8:30 p.m. on August 7, 2008, with a driver and 55 passengers onboard, en route to Carthage, Missouri. Before the crash, the motorcoach was traveling in the right lane of the four-lane divided highway. As the motorcoach approached the Post Oak Creek near Sherman, its right steer axle tire failed. The motorcoach departed the roadway, overrode a 7-inch-high, 18-inch-wide concrete curb, and struck the metal bridge railing. After riding against the bridge railing for about 120 feet, the motorcoach went through the railing and off the bridge. It fell about 8 feet and slid on its right side before coming to rest on the inclined earthen bridge abutment adjacent to the creek. As a result of the accident, 17 motorcoach passengers died, the motorcoach driver received serious injuries, and 38 passengers received minor-to-serious injuries.