68 Injured in Bus Accident on Highway 73 in Port Arthur, TX
Port Arthur, TX — March 5, 2025, 68 people were reported injured due to a charter bus accident at around 4:00 p.m. along Highway 73.
According to initial details released about the crash, it happened in a construction zone in the area of the 9th Avenue exit.

Officials right now are saying a line of three Hotard charter buses were driving along the highway in a work zone. Up ahead, details say a dump truck "cut" over in front of the buses. The three buses all slammed on their brakes, but the third one crashed into the second one.
Reports right now are saying 68 people were taken to area hospitals. While there were reports of at least five people being critically injured, other reports claim victims have all been released by Thursday morning. Right now, additional details remain unclear as investigations continue.
Commentary
I've handled hundreds of commercial vehicle accident cases. To put it bluntly, a crash like this is likely to be anything but straight-forward. For one, reports suggest a truck may have started this chain-reaction. Have authorities gathered any video footage to show what happened? Did they interview the truck driver? Are they looking into that employer to find out if the driver was inexperienced or had a history of reckless driving?
On top of that, though, there were the buses themselves. Was it reasonable that the rear bus didn't slow down in time? Were they going too fast or following too closely? Were the buses not properly maintained, leading to braking issues? Does the company have other accidents in their history? Did authorities pull Engine Control Module (ECM) data to check the speeds and braking activity of the buses leading up to the crash?
Too often, folks think that determining responsibility after a crash is about finding a "bad guy" to pin the blame on. A lot of the time, though, there is a complex series of events leading to a crash, and multiple people can contribute to those events. If people are going to get the help they deserve, they need to have a clear picture of those events to make sure there's no room for blame-shifting or muddying the waters.
In my experience, that could present a significant challenge to authorities, whose primary focus tends to be on clearing the scene and looking for possible charges to file. Their efforts alone may not be enough to ensure all the evidence is brought to light.
“These are essential reads for anyone dealing with the aftermath of a truck wreck”– Attorney Cory Carlson