On December 24, 2014, North Carolina State Trooper Chris Justice was responding to the scene of a fatal vehicle accident on Interstate 40. A car ran off the road in Mebane, North Carolina, and then another vehicle hydroplaned into the crash site, hitting three firetrucks. The driver of the second vehicle died at the scene.
Justice was among the Troopers responding to this accident scene, which was flanked by numerous emergency vehicles with flashing lights. Justice was sitting in his Chevrolet Tahoe patrol vehicle in the right lane of the interstate with his emergency lights on. A Greyhound bus traveling on the interstate then slammed into the back of Justice’s vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Justice suffered serious injuries in the crash that have left him unable to return to work, according to a lawsuit filed by Justice and his wife. Documents from the lawsuit show that the driver of the bus had surpassed the limit on consecutive driving hours allowed by law. He was traveling 68 mph at the time of the crash and did not attempt to swerve until the last second.
The bus was traveling from Atlanta, Georgia, to Raleigh, North Carolina. It departed Atlanta at 1 a.m. on Christmas Eve, and the crash occurred at 10 a.m. The driver told officers he was not feeling tired before the crash.
After a two-week trial in federal court in New Bern, North Carolina, a jury awarded Justice and his wife $7 million in damages.