A recent accident led to three fatalities when a bus driver crashed into other vehicles on an interstate highway. The accident involved a bus carrying members of a student organization called the National Association for Black Engineers from North Carolina. They were en route to Baltimore for an annual fall conference. The accident also involved a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer that was transporting logs. Like many tractor-trailer accidents, especially multiple-vehicle collisions, the damage from the accident was severe.

Police said a 25-year-old woman and her 40-year-old husband died in the crash. The third victim was the woman's 66-year-old father-in-law. The three victims were riding in the pickup truck. Their bodies were taken to the medical examiner's office after the crash so they could be identified. There was another passenger in the car -- the 27-year-old sister of the female who died. She was transported to the hospital to undergo treatment for injuries related to the vehicle accident.

The bus driver, a 56-year-old man from North Carolina, was charged with reckless driving. It is unclear whether any more charges will be filed, but the man has an arraignment date scheduled for early next year.

The family of the victims in the crash is left to plan three funerals. They may also be dealing with medical expenses from the injuries sustained by the 27-year-old woman in the crash. Those who were injured in the accident or who had family members killed may be able to bring a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit against the bus driver, the bus company and possibly others. If the bus driver or bus company is found to be liable for negligence, the passengers may be entitled to damages.

Auto collisions, however tragic, are not always the result of carelessness, distraction or even reckless driving. Rather, car accidents can be cause by any number of factors. For example, a defect in the vehicle or even an unexpected medical emergency can result in an auto collision.

One such accident took place recently in late October in North Baltimore, according to a television news story. Police reported that at about 7:45 a.m., near the intersection of Northern Parkway and North Charles Street, the driver of a vehicle began to suffer from some sort of medical condition. Authorities speculated that it may have been a heart attack, but this information was not confirmed in the news story.

The man crashed into several other vehicles due to his medical condition. He died at the scene of the accident, and it was not published in the initial news report whether the man died as a result of his condition or because of the accident.

Additionally, there was no information available regarding whether there were any injuries suffered by any of the occupants of the other vehicles involved in this accident. The crash was still being investigated at the time the news report was published.

Because so little information was publicly and immediately available, it is difficult to even begin to determine where the liability is for this accident. Oftentimes, when someone suffers a tragic medical problem like the man did in this incident, an investigation of the accident scene is taken into account, and lawyers can also consult with physicians and other medical providers as well as life care planners and even economists to learn the best way for any victims to proceed after the accident.

According to police, the accident occurred on Oct. 20 in the Fells Point area. Police report being called to the intersection of South Broadway and Bank Street just before 10:30 p.m. Authorities say a sport utility vehicle collided with another vehicle, though they did not state what they believed caused the crash. Police think speed may have been a factor in the accident. No further information as to who may have been at fault was provided.

Emergency responders on the scene reported that there were people trapped inside the vehicles and they had to be pulled out by emergency crews. The 23-year-old driver of the SUV and an 18-year-old passenger in the car were taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital where they succumbed to their injuries and died. The 23-year-old driver was a student at Morgan State University and was due to graduate in December, according to a news report. Two other people involved in the accident were hospitalized as a result with non-life-threatening injuries. No information was released about the two injured persons.

Under Maryland personal injury law, those that experience personal injury or lose a loved one in a car accident as a result of someone's negligence are entitled to seek compensation for wrongful death or personal injury damages. While no amount of money can replace the loved ones lost, the families involved in a case like this may want to hold someone accountable for their loss.