NTSB TO CONSIDER FINAL REPORT ON FATAL CRASH OF 15-PASSENGER CHILD-CARE VAN

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public Board meeting on Wednesday, April 7, 2004, at 9:30 a.m., in its Board Room and Conference Center, 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. The final report on the fatal crash of a 15-passenger van operated by a child-care facility in Memphis, TN, will be discussed.

The accident occurred on April 4, 2002, when a 15-passenger Ford E-350 van transporting six children on Interstate 240 in Memphis, TN, drifted off the right side of the roadway, overrode the guardrail and struck a bridge abutment. The driver was ejected through the windshield and sustained fatal injuries. Four of the children also were killed, and two were seriously injured.

The Board scheduled this meeting for April 7 to coincide with World Health Day, which marks the beginning of a year of activities and events around the world focusing on road traffic safety. NTSB is working with numerous other federal agencies to highlight the importance of transportation safety during World Health Day.

In 2002, the World Health Organization ranked road deaths and injuries 9th on their top ten list of the global burden of disease. In the year 2020, if current trends continue, the annual number of deaths and disabilities from traffic injuries will rise by 60%.

By 2020, road traffic injuries will rank in third place as a cause of worldwide health problems just below heart disease and major mental depression. It would be more prevalent than chronic pulmonary disease, respiratory infections, tuberculosis, war, and HIV.

The public may view the Board meeting via a live or archived webcast by accessing a link under "News & Events" on the NTSB home page at www.ntsb.gov.

Directions to the Board Room: Front Door located on Lower 10th Street, directly below L'Enfant Plaza. From Metro, exit L'Enfant Plaza station at 9th and D streets escalator, walk through shopping mall, at CVS store take escalator down one level. Board Room will be to your left.

NTSB Media Contact: Paul Schlamm, (202) 314-6100
schlamp@ntsb.gov