Texas tour bus accident update: safety agency issues report

On Behalf of | Apr 26, 2013 | Bus Accidents |

It’s been about two weeks now since the fatal tour bus crash in North Texas. In our April 17 post, we wrote about how two passengers were killed in the accident. There were also many people injured.

One of those injured people has now died, bringing the death toll in the crash to three.

Authorities have been actively investigating the accident. This week, the Texas Department of Public Safety issued a report on what happened.

The report did not find any auto defects in the tour bus that crashed and rolled on a highway near Dallas. There was also no finding that drug or alcohol use by the driver was a factor in causing the crash.

But the report did identify apparent errors by the 65-year-old bus driver. In particular, the report pointed to the driver’s inability to maintain his lane. The report also expressed concern about inattention by the driver.

A preliminary report had suggested that the driver may have lost consciousness at the wheel. The report released this week did not contain that assertion, but obviously the finding of inattention is very serious in its own right.

Court records show that the driver had previously been involved in another fatal bus accident. The previous accident occurred in 1998, also on a highway near Dallas. The person who was killed in that incident had been trying to provide help at an accident scene.

Regarding the accident that occurred earlier this month, many questions remain unanswered. One set of questions concerns the driver’s physical condition. Another set of questions concerns how much the bus company knew or should have known about those conditions.

Source: “Report: Bus Driver Says he May Have Blacked Out,” ABC News, David Warren, 4-22-13