Beaufort couple still recovering after casino bus crash

Dan Lauzon and his wife, Pat, enjoy gambling as recreation, but the Beaufort couple had no idea they would be gambling with their lives on a recent trip to the Harrah's Tunica casino in Tunica, Miss.

On Sunday morning, Aug. 10, a Harrah's Tunica bus carrying 42 tourists from South Carolina, from the Charleston area, overturned in northwestern Mississippi, killing three people and injuring several others.

The tourists were on their way to the Tunica airport to catch a chartered flight back to South Carolina when the bus turned 180 degrees and flipped on its side into the median.

It was raining at the time, and the bus was the only vehicle involved in the accident. The bus's roof partially collapsed in the rollover. Its windows were knocked out, and the sides were caked in mud.

"We started to skid," Dan Lauzon recalled. "First I thought (the driver) was making a pretty fast left-hand turn, but I realized later, we were skidding, and he had lost control. At that point my wife looked at me and said, 'Your eyes look like saucers.' Then I passed out, and so did she. The next thing I remember, I woke up on the ceiling of the bus."

Lauzon, 61, said that he and his wife have visited Harrah's Grand Biloxi on the Gulf Coast several times, and the casino company invited them to visit its Tunica location.

Lauzon said that his wife still is too traumatized to discuss the tragedy, and while both were treated and released from the hospital the same day of the accident, they both sustained injuries they still are recovering from through physiotherapy. Lauzon said he did not pass out from pain or shock.

"(As) the bus started to flip, my body said, 'No, you're not going to watch this,'<2009>" he said while laughing. "I guess I'm lucky because my body was loose, and it was more flexible. When I came to, my wife was hanging, so I got her down, and we crawled out through the mud and blood out the back window, which had blown out. We heard sirens and screaming and just thou'What happened?' There were people trapped, and the fire department came with the jaws of life and were having trouble getting some people out. We knew then that some people didn't make it."

The three people killed in the crash have been identified as Glenda Stone, 53, of Goose Creek; Charlotte Carros, 63, of Eutawville; and Paula Kemp, 53, of Mount Pleasant.

Lauzon said the first people to assist the crash victims were good Samaritans driving on U.S. 61 south of Casino Strip Resort Boulevard, an area home to several casinos, where the accident occurred. He remembers a couple on a motorcycle and a man in a pickup truck helping his wife and him through twisted metal and glass. There is one particular image he always willremember:

"I saw one guy, I mean I saw his skull," said Lauzon. "I won't forget that. The flesh was gone. He was still alive, and he was seriously injured, but man, what a sight."

According to a news release issued by Harrah's Entertainment the day after the accident, only one guest aboard the bus did not require medical attention. The Mississippi Department of Transportation has examined the intersection where the accident occurred on several occasions, and local residents have said the intersection is dangerous in the rain.

Valerie Morris, regional vice president of communications and community affairs for Harrah's Mid-South Region, said via e-mail that all of the injured have been released from hospitals and have returned to South Carolina.

"We were taken to the hospital in an ambulance," Lauzon recalled. "I've got a pretty good hematoma on my right arm, and it's still swollen. My doctor says it will be months before the swelling goes down. I still have a scab, and it's been eight weeks now. My wife had a lot of bruising, sternum bruising, and back and shoulder pain."

Lauzon was interviewed by CNN, ABC, NBC and Fox following the crash.

"When we went back to the hotel after being released from the hospital, there I was on the news on CNN," he said.

Lt. Brady McMillen, director of accident reconstruction for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, said that the accident reporthas been completed, but the comprehensive report will take longer and will not be done until early December.

"The collision report itself that was issued by the investigating officer indicates speed too fast for conditions," said McMillen. "I would say that would be an accurate summation."

Despite the report's findings, Sgt. Leslie White of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said no charges have been filed against the driver, Larry D. Williams, 54, of Tunica County, Miss. McMillen said he does not anticipate any criminal charges against Williams and said "this is a civil issue only."

Although charges have not been filed against Williams, several of the bus passengers have already filed lawsuits against Harrah's. Lauzon has a copy of the 14-page police report of the accident.

"Right now our legal rep is handling it," said Lauzon. "I presume Harrah's is pretty well aware of who's being represented. I'm sure these things are going to take time."

Morris said via e-mail that Harrah's does not respond to any pending litigation, nor does the company speculate on possible lawsuits filed. "All claims are in the hands of insurance carriers at this point," she said.

McMillen said that any time there is a high-profile case involving injuries, it's a pretty certain thing that civil litigation will take place.

"It's already being done," said McMillen. "We fully expect multiple lawsuits to be issued. I've spoken to several different attorneys and other reconstructionists that have been retained by people in South Carolina. (Harrah's) has been very cooperative with anything that I have requested from them. It's something that I'm certain that they regret happened."

Lauzon said that neither his wife nor he had ever been involved in an automobile accident before, and they feel blessed to be alive. Originally from Canada, the couple moved to Beaufort after Dan retired as vice president of a utility company, where his area of expertise was human resources and utility safety.

They do not plan to stop visiting casinos, but Lauzon said they will never board a tour bus again and will drive themselves next time they decide to gamble. Lauzon said that his degree in psychology has helped him deal with post traumatic stress caused by the accident.

While the Lauzons still are dealing with the tragic accident and overcoming their pain, they have found strength and support in getting to know some of the other survivors.

"It's comforting to know that there are other people who understand what happened and that, unfortunately, the process isn't over yet," said Lauzon.

"Everybody would like to get some closure, and that's going to be awhile."

Lauzon has kept up a good attitude throughout his ordeal and joked that he needs to get his arm healed because he hasn't been able to play golf for eight weeks.

"Life goes on, you know. Now we've got another crisis. The financial collapse of the U.S."

In between his good-natured humor, Lauzon counts his blessings that he survived such a horrible tragedy.

"It's something that should never have happened, and I think that's something that the ensuing months is definitely going to reveal," he said. "You look around, and every day you see people worse off than yourself, so you count yourself lucky, every day."