March 5, 2009 (by Otto Smyth)
According to reports by car accident lawyers, authorities in Jones Count North Carolina and Marine Corps Captain Clark Carpenter at least 13 Marines were injured this morning in a bus crash while on their way to Norfolk Virginia.
The Marines that were traveling from Camp Lajeune on three tour buses heading to Norfolk Virginia with 59 Marines and one sailor aboard.
The buses were approximately 20 miles from Camp Lajeune on U.S. Highway 17 in the vicinity of Marysville when investigators believe the third bus did not stop for traffic and struck the bus it was following.
According to the Jones County authorities the crash occurred at approximately 7:45 a.m. and Captain Carpenter stated the bus driver had been critically injured and was air lifted to a hospital.
Captain Carpenter also stated there were no Marines seriously injured and were transported to the Camp Lejeune Naval Hospital for treatment. The injuries were described as routine and the Captain did not elaborate further on the extent of the Marines injuries. He also stated that the Marines have trained for mass casualty incidents and were able to help each other after the crash. They were also able to assist the paramedics that arrived on the scene of the crash.
The Marines that were not injured in the crash were boarded on new buses and left for Norfolk where the Marines that are all from the 22nd Expeditionary Unit at Camp Lejeune will undergo training exercises March 10th. The exercises are part of their training program with the Bataan Strike Group prior to deploying this spring to the European and Middle East regions.
