| 1972 Bean Station bus-truck collision | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Details | |
| Date | May 13, 1972 c. 5:35 a.m. (EDT) |
| Location | U.S. Route 11W 5.2 mi (8.4 km) west from Bean Station, Tennessee |
| Coordinates | 36°19′52″N 83°22′08″W / 36.33111°N 83.36889°W |
| Country | United States |
| Operator | Greyhound |
| Incident type | Head-on collision |
| Cause | Operator error, distracted driving[1] |
| Statistics | |
| Bus | 1 |
| Vehicles | 1 (tractor-trailer) |
| Passengers | 27 (bus), 1 (tractor-trailer) |
| Deaths | 14 |
| Injured | 15 |
The 1972 Bean Station bus-truck collision was a head-on collision involving a double-decker Greyhound bus and a tractor-trailer on U.S. Route 11W in Grainger County, Tennessee, that occurred near the town of Bean Station on the morning of May 13, 1972.[2][3]
Ultimately resulting in 14 deaths, the collision is the deadliest and one of the worst in the history of Tennessee.[4][5] The collision led to outcry from politicians and citizens calling for traffic safety and infrastructure improvements, such as highway widenings, and the completion of Interstate 81 in Tennessee.[6]
- ^ "GREYHOUND BUS/MALONE FREIGHT LINE, INC. TRUCK COLLISION" (PDF). National Transportation Safety Board. October 25, 1973. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ "14 Die in Tennessee Bus Truck Crash". New York Times. May 14, 1972. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ Wolfe, Tracey (June 24, 2020). "Victim reunites with rescue workers 48 years after deadly crash". Grainger Today. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
- ^ Lakin, Matt (August 26, 2012). "Blood on the asphalt: 11W wreck left 14 people dead". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved May 6, 2020.
- ^ Ahillen, Steve (October 3, 2013). "Jefferson wreck echoes Tennessee's most deadly bus accident". Knoxville News Sentinel. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
- ^ Smith, Bob (May 14, 1972). "11-W Disaster Brings New Highway Pleas". Kingsport Times-News. pp. 1-A, 10-A. Retrieved December 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.