Davis Law Group, P.S.

A Tired Bus Driver Kills Four Passengers in a Crash

Four people were killed and several were injured in a bus accident. The bus company had a record of safety problems. The driver is being charged with reckless driving.

Police also reported that driver fatigues was a factor in the crash. The “cheap fare” bus company, Sky Express has been involved in many accidents over the last few years. The company has also been cited for 46 violations of drivers being tired while driving.

The crash occurred when the bus swerved off of the freeway and hit an embankment causing the bus to flip. Fifty-four people were taken to area hospitals and were treated for minor to severe injuries. There were 59 passengers on the bus.

The driver is in jail on $3,000 bond and is being investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board is investigating.

During a two year time period, Sky Express has been involved with four bus accidents involving one injury or fatality (it was not specified).

The company’s drivers have been cited for 17 unsafe-driving violations, including eight for speeding, since 2009. It received a 62.9 percent rating. That means it performed worse than nearly 63 percent of comparable transportation companies.

In the area of driver fitness, federal records show that Sky Express has been cited for 24 violations since 2009, including 14 for using drivers who lack English-language skills. Its 99.7 percent rating ranks the company among the worst in that category.

Three of the companies 46 violations for fatigued driving were classified as serious. It ranked worse than 86 percent of similar companies in the fatigue category.

The report by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration raises questions about tired drivers and driver fitness in particular.

"You can tell this is a problem carrier," he said of the company that runs 31 motor coaches with about 50 drivers. Yet it is still in service?