Personal Injury Law

Safety Was Lacking in Bus Crash that Killed 48 at the Border

By Jeff Rasansky

An investigator made a statement on Tuesday that no U.S. or Texas safety officials were on duty when a bus crossed the border hours before a fatal accident. NTSB investigator Pete Kotowski said that the bus was cleared by customs when it came into the U.S. at a Laredo, Texas crossing.

Because no Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration or Texas DPS inspectors were on duty, no safey inspection was undertaken, according to Kotowski.

Tomorrow there will be an NTSB investigative hearing on the crash.

The crash occurred in Victoria, Texas and ended in 48 deaths. The bus was returning to Houston from Monterrey, Mexico, when the driver veered off the road and overcorrected, which caused the bus to flip on its side and collide with a guardrail.

NTSB regulator Debbie Hersman, who chaired the hearing, claimed that loopholes were used to put a bus that didn't meet federal standards on the road. According to Hersman, the operator of the bus registered it in two states, using false addresses and a third party to complete the paperwork.

The Bus was owned by Capricorn Bus Lines Inc. of Houston and leased to International Charter Services, also of Houston.

Capricorn was not supposed to be able to travel outside of Texas, but by leasing the bus to International Charter, the bus was able to make the trip to Mexico.

Investigators have found that there are big problems with these bus companies, including poor screening of the drivers.

Full post as published by Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer on October 07, 2008 (boomark / email).