Cruise Ship Passengers In Bus Wreck
30 Of 42 Cruise Ship Passengers Injured
HAL Maasdam - January 5, 2008
The latest port of call incident included a record number of cruise ship passengers who were on a tour bus in Florida when a vehicle slammed into the bus they were traveling in, injuring 30 of the 42 passengers aboard.
The passengers had just disembarked Holland America's MS Maasdam at Port Everglades and were heading for a tour of the Everglades before returning home.
The black mustang sports car that hit the bus was driven by Omar Abu-Jabir age 38 who lost control of his vehicle on Interstate 595 near Davie, Florida abour 0900 hours (9am) causing the accident, and was taken from the scene in critical condition.
Emergency personnel responding to the scene set up a triage area where they treated a total of 42 passengers.
The driver of the tour bus was in serious condition at the scene and was also rushed to a local hospital.
Police say the injured were four people critically injured, four were seriously hurt and 24 suffered minor injuries.
One critical person "very critical.", according to a spokesperson from Broward County Hospital. The victim showed "evidence of neurological damage that you can't fix with surgery."
In all, 32 people were transported to Broward General Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale and Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Rosa said. So far, there were no deaths. However one person was airlifted to Broward General, and others were transported with less serious injures to both hospitals aboard a Broward County bus, according to Rosa.
