About 3:25 p.m. on April 12, 1984, a westbound Chesapeake and Ohio Railway Company freight train travelling about 49 mph struck the front right side of a northbound 1980 Isle of Wight County schoolbus stopped at a railroad grade crossing on State Route 615 near Carrsville, Virginia. The weather was clear, the sun was to the schoolbus driver's left, and the train’s whistle and bell were sounding before the collision. There were crossbucks on both sides of the single track crossing. The driver's sight distance in the direction of the approaching train was about 1/3 of a mile. The 64-passenger schoolbus body separated from the chassis at Impact, rotated counterclockwise 180 degrees, rolled over 270 degrees to the right, and came to rest on its left side about 80 feet southwest of the crossing. Of the 26 school-aged bus passengers, two were Injured seriously, one had moderate injuries, and the other 23 sustained minor injuries. The bus driver was seriously Injured and died five days after the accident. The train crew was not injured. The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the schoolbus driver's failure to stop before driving onto the railroad crossing to determine that it was safe to proceed.
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