Around 4:45 a.m, the double-decker bus operated by Greyhound departed from Knoxville en route to Roanoke, Virginia. The bus had traveled eastward along US-11W for 42.4 miles in 50 minutes, averaging a speed of 50 miles per hour. The tractor-trailer had departed at 8:53 a.m. on the previous day from a manufacturing facility in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, en route to Memphis. The tractor-trailer had driven 517 miles west in a period of 20.5 hours before reaching the site of the accident. The Greyhound bus had approached the site tailing a slow-moving car in the eastbound lane around 5:35 a.m. The bus then attempted to pass the automobile by crossing into the oncoming westbound lane, into the path of the tractor-trailer. The two vehicles then collided head-on at a combined speed of 100 miles per hour, killing the truck driver, bus driver, and 12 of the bus's passengers instantly.
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board began an investigation on the crash in 1973 and completed a 38 page report on the collision. This report was then issued to the public in February of 1974. The NTSB concluded that the probable cause of the collision was the Greyhound bus driver's attempt to pass the automobile with the view of the westbound semi-truck being obstructed. The driver also failed to avoid the truck for unknown reasons. The lack of restraints for passengers of the bus contributed to several fatalities of those on-board by ejection from the bus.
Aftermath
Led by the widow of one of the passengers aboard the bus, survivors of the crash and other family members of the victims filed a federal lawsuit against Greyhound for $2.5 million dollars. The jury found Greyhound at fault for failing to take action for the driver of the bus, who had a history of diabetes, heart and liver disease, and several other severe medical conditions. Individuals ranging from activists, state and local politicians, engineers, and journalists considered the collision a call to action for the widening of heavily trafficked highways in the state such as U.S. 11W and the completion of then under constructionInterstate 81 from Bristol to Dandridge, which paralled the route of 11W. Governor Winfield Dunn called for action to widen 11W from two to four lanes in its entirety from Kingsport to Knoxville, stating: As of the present day, U.S. Route 11W has since been widened to four lanes, except for the nearly 30 mile stretch between Blaine and Bean Station, including where the collision had occurred. It is been suggested that NIMBYism from citizens in Grainger County has played a significant role in the prevention and postponement of the highway construction. In 2020, the Tennessee Department of Transportation had completed the right-of-way acquisition phase of the 11W widening project between Rutledge and Bean Station, expecting to begin construction in 2021-2022.
