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A wrongful death case has been settled following a fatal bus crash that killed several members of a church in Statesville in 2013.
Eight people were killed in the wreck that happened on Interstate 40 in Tennessee.Β Six of the people killed were members of the Front Street Baptist Church in Statesville.Β Two other people involved in the crash also died.
A spokesperson with Butler Wooten & Peak LLP said a settlement was reached for an undisclosed confidential amount of money for five of the wrongful death cases and 12 personal injury cases.
The original lawsuit stated the tires on the bus ‘failed to meet the expectations of an ordinary consumer as to its safety.’Β Investigators determined a left-front tire failure caused the driver to lose control of the bus.
Original Story:
KNOXVILLE, T.N. — Officials say eight people have been killed and 14 injured after a charter bus carrying members of a Statesville church overturned on I-40 in Jefferson County.
Troopers say the bus was traveling westbound on Interstate 40 around 2 p.m. when the front left tire blew causing the bus to collide into a tractor trailer and a SUV. The tractor trailer immediately caught fire and the bus overturned.
We are told the bus was carrying a group of 18 people from Front Street Baptist Church in Statesville. Three people were in the SUV and one person was in the tractor trailer.
Officials say six people on the bus are dead, the driver of the tractor trailer and one person in the SUV.
I-40 has been shut down in both directions as troopers investigate. Traffic is being rerouted on the eastbound side at the I-40, I-81 junction. On the westbound side, the traffic is being diverted at mile marker 432.
The American Red Cross has provided a contact number for individuals who may have had loved ones involved in this afternoonβs bus crash in Jefferson County, TN. Those individuals can contact 865-305-5716 for more information.
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