Tire Blowout May Have Caused Illinois Megabus Crash

According to Illinois State Police, a blown tire may have been the reason that a Megabus vehicle drove off Interstate 55 and into a median before colliding head-on into a concrete overpass pillar. One passenger, 25-year-old University of Missouri student Aditi Avhad, was killed in the double-decker bus crash. At least 38 people were taken to hospitals for treatment of their injuries–that’s about half of the bus passengers.
Megabus has said that not only was the bus just checked, but that these maintenance evaluations are conducted about once every 10 days. However, a police spokesperson said triple digit weather or the speed that the bus was moving at when it hit the pillar could have still caused the blowout.

Tire Blowouts
A tire blowout usually involves a tire bursting along with it losing air pressure quickly. While some blowouts are a result of faulty maintenance or extremely hot weather, some tires end up blowing out because of defects in design or ones that occur during their manufacturing.
There is tread separation, which can be linked back to errors in the tire manufacturing process. Should the tire rubber and the metal belt material fail to bond, the tire’s treads may be prone to separating. Contaminated tire materials can also impede the tread bonding process. Grease, rust, oxidation, sawdust, and foreign objects such as candy wrappers can end up accidentally in the tire mix if quality control during the manufacturing process is poor. Improperly sized parts and dated bonding materials can also create tire flaws, as can skim stock that is deficient and insufficient nylon overlays. Inadequate final inspections of tires before they are sent out can cause workers to overlook or disregard any product deficiencies. Other causes of tire blowouts include old, worn tires, underinflated tires, and tires that are the wrong size for a vehicle.
Unfortunately, tire blowouts can lead to devastating consequences. The driver is no longer able to safely control or navigate the vehicle when a tire has blown out, increasing the risk of a deadly rollover, car crash, single-auto collision, or some other type of accident from happening.
At The Gilbert Law Group®, our tire defect lawyers represent victims and their families throughout the US. We are recognized nationally for our experience and successes in the area of auto products liability when it comes to recovering losses for our clients. We even have an in-house engineering team on staff helping us with our cases.

Illinois Megabus crash: Bus made in 2011, inspected days ago, The Christian Science Monitor/AP, August 3, 2012
State police: Blown tire likely caused Megabus crash, Chicago Sun-Times, August 3, 2012

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