Bus News

January 8, 2012
The Washington Post: Rimrock Trailways Bus Crash in Montana Kills Two and Injures 32
Two people are dead and 32 others were injured early Sunday morning when a Rimrock Trailways bus crashed and slid on its side down Interstate 90 near Clinton, Montana. The bus was on its way to Missoula from Billings when the fatal crash occurred at around 7 a.m.

According to authorities, the driver of the Rimrock Trailways bus was driving at an estimated speed of 65 to 70 miles per hour on an icy strip of highway when he lost control of the bus, flipping it on its side. The bus then slid around 150 feet, ejecting passengers and breaking windows along the driver's side of the bus. Three passengers ended up being pinned underneath the bus when it finally came to a stop in the median. A 60-year-old woman and a 56-year-old man were killed. Twelve passengers were taken to a Missoula hospital, seven of which were in critical condition and one in serious condition as of Sunday evening. Four passengers were treated and released from the hospital.

Investigators don't know what caused the fatal bus crash, but the driver's speed and icy road conditions are believed to be contributing factors. An investigation into the cause of Sunday morning's Rimrock Trailways bus crash is ongoing.

January 6, 2012
Victim of Greyhound Bus Crash Awarded $7.2 Million
A woman who was badly injured in a 2007 Greyhound bus rollover accident was awarded $7.2 million by a jury in Dallas, Texas. The lawsuit, filed by Ashley Reedy of Colorado, alleged the Greyhound driver of using his cell phone while driving on an icy road. According to the complaint, the bus driver lost control of the vehicle on Interstate 40 in Wheeler County, Texas, while approaching an accident. Driver Rashad Armand Nichols was allegedly distracted by his cell phone before slamming on the brakes and flipping the bus on the icy highway. Cell phone records from the day of the crash indicated that Nichols was on his cell phone 17 times during the three hours before the Greyhound bus accident. The jury in this case sided with Reedy, declaring both Nichols and Greyhound to be grossly negligent in the crash. Reedy will receive $2.2 million in compensatory damages and $4.8 million in punitive damages.

January 4, 2012
Staten Island Live: Staten Island Bus Company Pays $9.5 Million to Estate of Bus Accident Victim
The Atlantic Express bus company will pay $9.5 million to the estate of a woman run over and killed by one of their buses nearly three years ago. The fatal crash occurred on January 21, 2009 when an Atlantic Express bus driver ran a red light at the intersection of 34th Street and Madison Avenue, striking and killing Angela Reid as she was walking to work at New York University's Langone Medical Center. Ms. Reid died of her injuries three months after the bus accident. The man behind the wheel of the Atlantic Express bus was an ex-convict who did not disclose his criminal record or suspended New Jersey license prior to being hired. Records show that bus driver Rufus Jones had a lengthy rap sheet that included 31 convictions. The $9.5 million settlement will go to a trust fund set up for Ms. Reid's two sons.

December 5, 2011
Pennsylvania Jury Awards Amputee $14M for School Bus Crash
A woman who lost her leg after being struck by a school bus was awarded $14 million by a jury in Pennsylvania on Monday. Ashley Zauflik, now 22, was in a medically-induced coma for a month after the January 2007 accident. The crash occurred at her high school, located in a suburb of Philadelphia. Her leg had to be amputated to save her life. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that the bus driver made the mistake of pressing down on the gas pedal instead of the brake before slamming into a crowd of students outside Pennsbury High School.

The trial judge will likely reduce the amount rewarded to $500,000, which is the Pennsylvania cap on damages for school districts and municipalities. The $500,000 cap would apply to all awards stemming from the 2007 accident and there are seven other lawsuits seeking damages for injuries. If the state cap is not lifted in a state Supreme Court appeal, Ms. Zauflik and the other people that win damage awards would be forced to share $500,000. Ms. Zauflik's estimated lifetime medical expenses due to the accident will amount to over $3 million.

October 6, 2011
USA Today: Bus Crashes Into Overturned Big Rig
A bus headed to Denver, Colorado slammed into an overturned tractor trailer early Thursday morning on Interstate 80, injuring more than 30 people. The bus driver and one passenger were critically injured in the crash, which occurred in Gibbon, Nebraska at around 2 a.m. The accident happened after a tractor trailer overturned on Interstate 80, blocking westbound lanes. The bus driver, who could not avoid a collision, hit the overturned rig and then the highway median. A semi truck also collided with the overturned rig and ended up in a ditch alongside the road. The critically injured driver and passenger, along with 22 others, were taken to area hospitals. No deaths have been reported. According to reports it is unclear how many passengers were on the bus but 33 people were injured by the crash. The bus left Omaha at 10:50 p.m. Wednesday night with a scheduled arrival time in Denver at 7:55 a.m. on Thursday. Authorities are currently investigating what caused the collision between the bus and the big rigs.

August 3, 2011
YNN: Third New York Tour Bus Crash in Three Weeks Results in Multiple Injuries
A tour bus loaded with 30 passengers crashed in Upstate New York Wednesday night, injuring 19 people. The tour bus, operated by Amerpol Tours, was on its way to New Jersey from Niagara Falls when the crash occurred on Route 81 in Whitney Point, New York. The State Police said it is likely that the tour bus driver was simply driving too fast in rainy conditions and lost control of the bus. One woman was trapped in the wreckage for over an hour before she was rescued by first responders. Nearly all of the people onboard the bus were tourists from Poland. All of those injured were taken to local hospitals. This crash marks the third tour bus crash in Upstate New York in as many weeks. Two weeks ago, a tractor trailer collided with a tour bus causing an explosion that killed the tractor trailer driver. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the latest tour bus crash.

July 28, 2011
JacksonSun: One Teen Dead and 11 Are Injured in Church Van Crash
A 14-year-old girl was killed and 11 others were injured after a church van drove off an Interstate 40 off-ramp and collided with a light post about 55 miles west of Nashville, Tennessee. Authorities are investigating the possibility that the driver of the van, a 24-year-old man, fell asleep at the wheel. The van was returning to Destiny Church in Columbia, Tennessee from an overnight Christian "lock-in" event at the River of Life Church in Munford, Tennessee, when the fatal crash occurred. The van had 12 passengers in the vehicle, three of which had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. The other passengers were taken to Three Rivers Hospital. This marks the second fatal wreck in the last month involving a teenager affiliated with Destiny Church. On June 29, a 17-year-old girl was killed in a crash involving a big rig. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the Interstate 40 church van accident.

July 17, 2011
CNN: Two Are Dead in Upstate New York Tour Bus Crash
Two people were killed when a tour bus lost control and crashed into some trees off the shoulder of Interstate 90 near Cohocton, New York, on Sunday afternoon. At least eight people were injured in the wreck and taken to local hospitals. The tour bus, owned by Bedore Tours was on its way to Niagara Falls when the fatal crash occurred. Authorities have pointed to a flat tire as the cause of the crash, though an accident reconstruction team was on the scene to piece together the cause of the fatal wreck. The investigation continues.

June 10, 2011
KTBS Louisiana: Church Van from Louisiana Flips over and Kills One in Texas Crash
A teenager was killed Saturday afternoon when a Louisiana church van crashed in Smith County, Texas. The van was part of a caravan heading east on Interstate 20 when it lost a tire and flipped over, ejecting several passengers onto the interstate. According to officials, the roof of the van ripped into pieces after the van flipped. The fatal crash happened around 5:00 p.m. Officials said the male teenager that was killed was not wearing a seatbelt when the accident occurred. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the fatal accident.

June 6, 2011
WKRG CBS News Channel 5: 22 People Hurt After Bus Collides With Overturned Tractor Trailer
A bus carrying a high school marching band from Del Rio, Texas slammed into an overturned tractor trailer shortly after midnight on Monday, injuring 22 people on the bus. The accident occurred on Interstate 10 near Mobile, Alabama. One person with serious injuries had to be airlifted to a nearby hospital and two others were admitted into an intensive care unit. Alabama State Troopers are unclear as to what caused the tractor trailer to overturn on the Interstate. The 48 students and two chaperones on the bus were traveling to Florida for a performance. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the crash.

May 31, 2011
CBS Channel 2 New York: Driver Charged After Fatal Bus Crash Kills Four And Injures 54 Others
A 37-year-old bus driver has been charged with reckless driving after falling asleep at the wheel and causing a fatal accident that killed four and injured scores of others. Authorities say the driver of a Sky Express bus fell asleep and ran off the right side of the road before the bus flipped over on its side. The Sky Express bus left Greensboro, North Carolina at 10:30 p.m. Monday night and crashed around 5 a.m. near Richmond, Virginia. Many people were taken to nearby hospitals in Fredericksburg, Virginia, some in critical condition. There were 59 passengers on the bus. Four people were killed and 54 others were injured, some of them critically.

Sky Express, the company responsible for Tuesday's fatal crash in Virginia, has since been shut down indefinitely by the US Department of Transportation. Passenger bus safety has been the subject of media scrutiny since the horrific March 2011 bus crash in New York that killed 15 people. The subject of safety compliance investigations since 2008, Sky Express has been cited with 46 citations related to driver fatigue. Out of all passenger bus companies surveyed by the feds, Sky Express had the worst score in “driver fitness” (99.7%), and among the worst scores in “fatigued drivers” (86.2%) and “overall unsafe driving” (62.9%). 

Read the New York Daily News article

April 20, 2011
North Shore Sun: Bus and Big Rig Collision Leaves One Dead and Several Injured
A big rig and a bus collided Wednesday afternoon in Long Island, New York, killing one person on the bus and injuring several others. The fatal accident occurred on Sound Avenue, a two lane road in the town of Baiting Hollow. According to authorities, the big rig driver lost control coming out of a curve and crushed the side of a Maryhaven Center of Hope bus traveling in the opposite direction. First responders found the big rig flipped sideways, blocking traffic in both directions. The big rig driver and several others were rushed to area hospitals to treat their injuries. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of this fatal bus crash.

March 14, 2011
AOL Travel: Fatal Bus Crash on East Coast is Second in Three Days
A tour bus crashed on the New Jersey turnpike Monday night, killing the driver and one of the 45 passengers on board. The bus was on its way to Philadelphia from New York City when it struck a guardrail on the left side of the highway and slammed into an embankment. Authorities said 40 people were injured and taken to area hospitals, five in critical condition. The bus was owned and operated by Super Luxury Tours based in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. The cause of the crash has yet to be determined.

Monday night’s fatal accident comes on the heels of another bus crash in New York City that claimed the life of 15 people. The National Transportation and Safety Board (NTSB) is currently investigating both crashes.

March 12, 2011
New York Times: Tour Bus Crashes in the Bronx Leaving 15 Dead and 18 Injured
A bus making its way back to New York City from the Mohegan Sun casino in Uncasville, Connecticut crashed early Saturday morning in the Bronx, killing 15 and injuring 18. The exact cause of the crash has yet to be determined, though authorities are investigating the possibility of a tractor trailer being involved. Some of the crash victims told reporters they felt the bus hit rumble strips along the shoulder of the highway seconds before the crash, implying the driver may have fallen asleep at the wheel.

The fatal accident occurred on Interstate 95 at around 5:30 a.m. across the Bronx line from Westchester County. The bus overturned at a high rate of speed and ejected many passengers from the vehicle. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the deadly crash.

March 12, 2011
MY Fox NY: Bus Company in Deadly New York Crash Had Safety Violations
World Wide Tours, the bus company involved in a tragic accident that claimed the life of 15 people in New York City on Saturday morning, has a history of prior accidents with multiple injuries in the past few years. The fatal 5:30 a.m. crash in the Bronx also injured 18 others on Saturday, six of whom are in area hospitals in critical condition. In online documents from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, World Wide Tours was cited with multiple serious safety violations related to driver fatigue in the last 12 months. World Wide Tours booked 420,000 miles in 2010 with only 60 drivers in their employ.

March 7, 2011
KTVU Oakland, CA: Two Pedestrians Injured in UC Berkeley Bus Accident
A University of California shuttle bus hit and ran over a woman and injured another that was trying to get the bus driver’s attention on Monday afternoon. The accident occurred at the intersection of Center Street and Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley. Firefighters were on scene soon after the 4:30 p.m. accident working to get the woman out from underneath the bus. She was later taken to a local trauma center to treat serious open fractures to the lower part of her body. Though her injuries were not life threatening, she will require surgery and hospitalization. The other woman injured in the accident was treated on scene and released. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the accident.

March 5, 2011
MSNBC: Bus Crash Kills One in Pennsylvania
A tour bus struck and killed a 41-year-old-man standing beside his disabled car late Saturday night during an ice storm in northeastern Pennsylvania. Several others were injured in the accident when the bus crashed into the disabled car. The crash happened alongside Interstate 380 in Clifton Township. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the fatal crash.

February 18, 2011
WCAX, Burlington, VT: Trucker’s Family Receives $2.6 Million in Damages
from Fatal 2005 Bus Crash
Attorneys representing the family of a Pennsylvania trucker reached a tentative agreement in a lawsuit stemming from a highway collision that killed four people in 2005. The family will receive more than $2.6 million in damages. The accident occurred in western New York when a charter bus carrying a women’s hockey team from Canada crashed into a tractor trailer that was parked on the side of Interstate 390. In addition to the Pennsylvania truck driver inside the tractor trailer, three passengers on the charter bus were also killed. Investigators say the bus driver fell asleep at the wheel before slamming into the tractor trailer.

December 27, 2010
Tour Bus Crashes in Egypt, Killing Eight American Tourists and Injuring 21 Others
Eight American tourists were killed and 21 others were injured when a tour bus crashed into a parked truck in Egypt on Sunday, December 26, 2010. There were 37 people on board the bus which was traveling to the Abu Simbel temples, an archaeological site in southern Egypt. According to Egyptian authorities, the bus slammed into a dump truck parked along the narrow Egyptian road at around dawn on Sunday. The crash sheared off the entire left side of the bus, exposing the seats within.

Eight Americans, six women and two men, were pronounced dead at the scene. Another 21 people, including the Egyptian bus driver and tour guide, were injured. Survivors were evacuated by helicopter and the most critically injured were flown to Cairo for treatment.

The operator of the bus is the Egyptian travel firm Misr Sinai Tours. The wrecked tour bus was part of a three-bus caravan traveling from Aswan to the archeological ruins. There were nearly 80 tourists aboard the other two buses. They were uninjured.

A few days after the fatal tour bus crash, Egyptian authorities detained the driver of the parked truck that was hit by the tour bus. The truck driver is being held temporarily pending further investigation.

The driver of the tour bus is currently in the hospital receiving treatment for life-threatening injuries.

Egypt is known for its dangerous roads and poor enforcement of traffic laws. Motor vehicle accidents are not uncommon in Egypt, with an estimated 8,000 deaths reported each year. Less than a year ago, a group of French tourists were injured in a crash along the same desert roadway where this bus crash occurred.

December 18, 2010
TMCnet.com: Eight People Critically Injured in Colorado Tour Bus Crash
Eight people were seriously injured on Saturday when a tour bus crashed in central Colorado. According to authorities, the crash occurred while the Gotta Go Express Trail Ways tour bus traveled on Highway 113 near Gunnison, Colorado. The bus, carrying 46 people, veered off the icy highway before rolling onto its side, the Colorado State Patrol said. Eight people were taken to area hospitals with serious injuries. Authorities say the bus was carrying a church group. The crash is under investigation.

December 3, 2010
WAFB Channel 9: 21 Children in Hospital After Tractor Trailer Rear-Ends School Bus
A school bus was rear-ended by a tractor trailer as it stopped to pick up school children along U.S. 190 near Port Barre, Louisiana, on Friday Morning. According to authorities, there were 21 children from Port Barre Elementary and Port Barre High inside the bus at the time of the crash. They were all taken to area hospitals with varying injuries, authorities said. Three children were listed in critical condition. The crash is under investigation.

October 17, 2010
AZCentral.com:  Arizona Bus Crash Kills Two Tourists and Critically Injures Five Others
Two people where killed and five others critically injured after a tour bus carrying 12 people crashed in Kingman, Arizona on Sunday morning. The commercial tour bus was traveling from Las Vegas to the Grand Canyon when it drifted off a road near the Lake Mead National Recreation Area and rolled over several times. Two Chinese tourists were pronounced dead at the scene. The other nine passengers were taken to hospitals, five with critical injuries. The driver of the bus suffered only minor injuries. This is the third fatal tourist bus crash to occur in the past two years. Investigators are looking into the cause of the fatal bus crash.

September 29, 2010
Maryland Community Newspapers Online: Driver Killed and a Dozen Injured
in Maryland Tour Bus Crash
One man was killed and a dozen others were injured when a tour bus crashed in Bethesda, Maryland on Wednesday. The crash occurred at about 4 p.m. as the Wolf’s Bus Lines tour bus traveled northbound on a ramp on Interstate 270. According to police, the mid-sized bus drove off the ramp, smashed through a guard rail and slid down a 45 foot embankment. The bus then flipped once and landed right side up. The bus was carrying 11 passengers, including several children, back to Pennsylvania from a trip to the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Some survivors crawled out of the mangled bus and others had to be extricated. The crash led to a second accident after a light pole was knocked down into traffic. Twelve people were taken to area hospitals, two with serious injuries. The bus driver was killed in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the bus crash.

September 11, 2010
Philadelphia Inquirer: Four People Killed and Five Seriously Injured in Double Decker Bus Crash
A double-decker Megabus crashed into a railroad bridge in Salina, New York, on Saturday morning, killing four passengers and seriously injuring five others. The 13- foot-high Coach USA bus crashed at about 2:30 a.m. on Saturday into a 10 feet, 9 inch-high railroad bridge, shearing off the top deck of the bus. The Toronto-bound bus was carrying 29 people, including driver John Tomaszewski. Officials investigating the crash said that Tomaszewski might have made a wrong turn into an unfamiliar roadway. According to Coach USA, Tomaszewski had driven the route regularly. Police said the road leading to the bridge did have many warning signs, however, some of which were flashing. Tomaszewski told police that he was following his GPS and missed the signs. Authorities are investigating the fatal bus crash.

August 9, 2010
Small Tour Bus Crashes in Utah, Killing Three and Injuring Others

A small bus carrying 14 passengers crashed on Interstate 15 in southern Utah on Monday, killing three Japanese tourists. According to the Utah Highway Patrol, the bus was traveling from Las Vegas to Bryce Canyon National Park when it veered of the left side of the interstate and rolled over. Three members of a Japanese tour group were killed and another seven passengers were taken to hospitals with unspecified injuries. The driver of the bus, a 26-year-old Japanese man, is believed to have been drowsy and not focused on his driving at the time of the crash. He suffered minor injuries and has been able to talk to investigators. A probe into the fatal bus crash is underway.

August 5, 2010
Two School Buses, Pickup and Semi Collide in Missouri

Two people are dead and about 50 are injured after a multi-vehicle crash involving two buses carrying high school students, a pickup truck and a tractor trailer. The collision occurred at about 10 a.m. on Wednesday, as all vehicles traveled eastbound on Interstate 44 in Missouri, about 30 miles from St. Louis.

July 22, 2010
California Greyhound Bus Crash Leaves Six Dead, Others Injured

Excessive speed and unsafe driving will be among the causes crash investigators will be probing in determining the cause of a fatal Greyhound bus accident on Highway 99 in Fresno killing six and injuring others.  On average, bus accidents cause approximately 330 deaths and 12,000 injuries a year in the U.S.

April 24, 2010
Portland Mercury: Bus Collides with Group of Pedestrians in Portland,
Killing Two and Injuring Three Others
Two young Portlanders were killed and three others were injured on Saturday night when a bus collided with a group of five pedestrians as they crossed NW Broadway in Portland, Oregon. According to officials, the crash occurred as the TriMet bus was turning left with a green light. The bus then hit a group of young adults who were walking in the crosswalk. According to police, the pedestrians had a walk signal when the bus struck them. Two women, aged 22 and 26, were pronounced dead at the scene. Three others were injured, one critically. Portland police are currently working on the investigation.

March 5, 2010
Fox News: Bus Crash Near Phoenix Claims Six Lives
A bus collided with a pickup truck and rolled over on the I-10 in Arizona on Friday, ejecting and killing six bus passengers and injuring 17 others. According to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, the fatal crash occurred in the early morning hours near the community of Sacaton, near Phoenix, when the bus struck the pickup and overcorrected before rolling over. Two men and four women traveling aboard the bus were killed when they were ejected about 10 yards from the accident scene. The bus was traveling from the Mexican state of Zacatecas and was headed to Los Angeles. There were 22 people on the bus. The surviving 16 passengers were injured, nine of them critically. The rollover crash triggered another accident involving a passenger car. One person in the car was taken to an area hospital with unspecified injuries. The fatal accident is under investigation.

February 17, 2010
The Morning Call: Car and School Bus Collide in PA, Killing One
A car and a school bus collided as the bus pulled into a middle school in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania on Wednesday, killing a passenger in the car. There were 45 students in the bus at the time, thankfully no one in the school bus was seriously hurt. Five students received minor injuries. The driver of the car was seriously injured. The accident remains under investigation.

November 19, 2009
Minnesota Public Radio:  Driver of Tour Bus Suffered Chest Aneurism
Before Crash, Company Employee Confirms
An employee of Strain Bus Line Motor Coach tours, the operators of the bus that crashed on Wednesday in Minnesota, killing 2 women and injuring 21 people, has confirmed that the driver of the bus suffered a ruptured aneurysm in his chest.  The employee said that bus driver Ed Erickson, 52, blacked out after the aneurism went to his brain, and believes that this could have caused the deadly accident.  Erickson is at Saint Mary’s Hospital recovering from his injuries and is in stable condition. He has been able to speak to investigators who are trying to piece together the events that lead to the crash.  He is the company’s only full time driver.

November 18, 2009
Department of Transportation:  DOT  Proposed Motorcoach Safety Improvements
Two Days Before Fatal Minn. Bus Crash
The tour bus crash that claimed two lives in Minnesota on Wednesday, occurred two days after the U.S. Secretary of Transportation released a new action plan to address motorcoach safety issues.  The announcement was released on November 16th.  The proposed plan, which is a response to two previous bus accidents which also claimed passenger lives, covers major safety issues including “driver fatigue and inattention, vehicle rollover, occupant ejections and oversight of unsafe carriers.”  The DOT believes the proposed changes will reduce the number of motorcoach crashes and also potentially help save lives.  Investigators probing Wednesday’s fatal crash say it is too early to tell if these proposed safety improvements could have made a difference in the crash.

November 18, 2009
KTHV Channel 11:  Tour Bus Crashes in Minnesota, Some Passengers reported Dead
A Minnesota tour bus crashed on Interstate 90 in southern Minnesota, west of Austin, on Tuesday Nov. 18.  State officials say “there are some fatalities” but have failed to say how many.  Earlier today, authorities had said that as many as 22 people were injured when the tour bus, operated by Strain Bus Line Motor Coach Tours, crashed and rolled over.  According to an employee of the tour bus company, the busses are operated every Wednesday from Rochester to Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood Iowa.

July 13, 2009
WKBT CBS News Channel 8: Fifteen People Injured After Bus is Struck by Tractor-Trailer
Fifteen people were injured when a charter bus collided with a tractor-trailer in a highway west of Manhattan, Arkansas on Monday, July 13, 2009.  The bus, carrying students in a job training program, overturned and burst into flames after being struck by a truck carrying construction materials.  Aboard the bus were students from the Flint Hills Job Corps Center in Manhattan which were returning home from a trip to Kansas City.  The bus had made a legal U-turn right before it was struck, the Kansas Highway Patrol said. April 28, 2009

Mercury News: At least 4 killed in tour bus crash in Soledad, California

A tour bus carrying foreign tourists was heading towards Southern California when it crashed, overturned and split in two, on an overpass in Soledad, California, killing at least four people.  According to California Highway Patrol, some passengers, French and Canadian tourists, were ejected onto Highway 101, onto nearby railroad tracks and others were projected onto Front Street below.  Both directions of the 101 were closed and at least two victims were evacuated by helicopter and transported to nearby hospitals.  An estimated 48 people are believed to have been on the bus, which is owned by Orion Pacific, a charter company based in Orange. The bus was traveling from San Francisco, stopped in Monterey and Carmel, and was scheduled to stop for the night in Santa Maria.

December 26, 2008
MSNBC: Bus flips and crashes in New Mexico, killing two and injuring 50
Two people were killed and about 50 others injured when the tour bus they were riding in flipped on an icy highway in New Mexico on December 26, 2008. The bus driver had lost control in a construction zone on U.S. 54 about 8 miles north of Corona, causing the bus to flip. The bus, owned by Los Paisanos bus company, was traveling from El Paso, Texas to Aurora, Colorado. The accident is still being investigated but the snow packed and icy roads might have contributed to the deadly accident.

November 5, 2008
San Francisco Chronicle: Charter bus driver arrested in fatal crash
Nine people died and over 30 were injured on Sunday, November 5, when the bus they were in crashed near Williams, California, about two miles from its destination, Colusa Casino Resort.  The bus, carrying mostly senior citizens and Laotian immigrants, crashed on Lone Star Road east of Interstate 5, near Abel road.

According to witnesses, the driver fell asleep at the wheel, losing control of the bus.  After overcorrecting, the bus then veered to the other side of the two lane road before crashing and rolling over in a ditch.

The driver, Quintin Watts, who was critically injured during the crash, as he lay on his hospital bed at Woodland Memorial Hospital.  Watts, 52, of Stockton, is suspected of driving under the influence of prescription or non prescription drugs. 

According to media reports, the bus was uninsured.
Driver Falls Asleep Losing Control of Bus -- Nine Dead and Over 30 Injured

August 11, 2008
CNN: Feds shut down bus company after deadly crash
There have been three major bus crashes involving multiple injuries and fatalities over the past three days.  The first crash occurred in Sherman, Texas when a charter bus experienced a tire blow out and flipped over.  That crash killed 17 people and injured at least 20.  A bus full of tourists on their way to a casino crashed in Mississippi on Sunday, August 10, 2008, killing four people and critically injured several.   Also, on Sunday a bus carrying workers from a casino, suddenly veered into a median wall on Interstate 15 in Las Vegas, injuring an estimated 29 in which four are in critical condition.

July 15, 2008
Washington Post: 2nd Victim In Open-Top Bus Accident In D.C. Dies
Two men died when their heads hit an overpass under the 11th Street overpass in Washington, D.C. on July 11, 2008.  They were traveling with a group of people who were on their way to the Washington Nationals baseball game.  They were either standing or sitting on the top deck of the open top double decker bus owned by Open Top Sightseeing, which is best known for their hop-on, hop-off double decker buses in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.  Police are still investigating exactly what occurred.  Open top double decker buses must follow the same height restrictions that apply to other buses and trucks traveling in the city.

July 3, 2008
Baltimore Sun: Some injured after bus overturns
A bus driving from Gunpowder Falls State Park in Chase, Maryland, overturned into a ditch.  Several of the passengers sustained minor injuries.  All on board the bus were taken to the medical center for evaluation.  The organization's name which was operating the bus was not released.

May 21, 2008
Los Angeles Times: 1 dies, 21 hurt as Culver City-Laughlin tour bus crashes
A bus from Royal American Tours and Charter of Glendale, California, crashed on May 17 on its way to Laughlin, Nevada, killing one person and injuring more than 20.  The bus was on a casino trip and had picked up the passengers at a mall in Culver City, CA.  It crashed approximately three miles east of Ludlow, which is approximately 115 miles southwest of Las Vegas.  The bus driver overcorrected his steering several times before losing control of the bus which landed on its side.  The person who was killed  was thrown from the bus and pinned underneath it.   Royal American Tours and Charter had no comment.

January 17, 2008
Associated Press: Bus Crash on Nevada Highway Injures 25
A commuter bus carrying workers to a casino in Primm, Nevada, ran off Interstate 15, critically injuring three passengers and injuring at least 25 more.  The bus was approximately seven miles from the town or Primm which is near the southwest border of California.  As the bus ran off the interstate, it crashed into a guardrail, slid more than 600 feet along a retaining wall and burst into flames.  A trooper for the Nevada Department of Public Safety said there were no deaths due to witnesses and other drivers who stopped and helped.  There was also a quick emergency response.  The bus was burned down to a charred skeleton.  The driver is facing questioning by investigators.

January 16, 2008
Channel 3 WCAX News: Accident Paralyzes Teenage Track Star
A school van on its way to New Hampshire for the Dartmouth Relays in Hanover, was carrying nine members of the junior varsity cross country track team from Stuyvesant High School in New York, when it flipped over on Interstate 91 in Vermont after veering into the median. The road was dry at the time of the crash. One girl is now paralyzed. Several others were injured. The van was being driven by the track team's coach.

January 10, 2008
The Salt Lake Tribune: NTSB finds that pavement was dry before fatal bus crash
According to the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board), the pavement was dry when the Arrow Stage Lines bus crashed down an embankment on January 6, 2008, killing nine passengers and injuring over 25.  The bus was traveling along State Route 163 heading back to Phoenix, Arizona from a skip trip.  Several teams of NTSB investigators, including eight officials, are working with the Highway Patrol and the Utah Department of Transportation to determine the cause of the accident.  Roadway conditions, the driver's experience and the condition of the bus will be taken into account during the investigation.  The black box data recorder and video from the bus have been recovered and will be reviewed by investigators determining the cause of the crash.

January 3, 2008
Chicago Tribune: Bus driver in fatal Arkansas crash had drugs in system, prosecutors say
An arrest warrant has been issued for Felix B. Tapia, of Brownsville, Texas.  He was the driver of a Tornado Bus Company charter bus that was traveling from Chicago to Texas on Highway 40 when it crashed in Forrest City, Arkansas on November 25, 2007.  The bus was carrying 46 passengers and crossed the median slamming into a pickup truck, killing three bus passengers and the driver of the pickup truck it hit.  Tapia had amphetamines in his system.  He has been charged with four felony counts of negligent homicide while under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Tornado Bus Company was ordered shut down on December 21, 2007 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration because it was found to pose a public safety hazard.  Since 2001, Tornado has been fined $57,680 for violating hours of service requirements and falsifying driver records.  In addition, they were fined a total of $5410 for safety violations that were discovered during roadside inspections.

January 6, 2008
A charter bus owned by Arrow Stage Lines ran off the road while driving on State Route 163, killing nine passengers and injuring  over 25.   The bus was carrying 51 passengers and was en route from Colorado to Phoenix after a ski trip.  It crashed about 10 miles north of Mexican Hat where Utah meets Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico.  Aid was delayed due to the region's isolation and cell phone service was not available in that area.  

November 30, 2007
ABC Channel 24 Eye Witness News: UPDATE: Driver in Fatal Bus Crash Had String of Citations
Felix Tapia, the bus driver whose bus crashed in Forrest City, Arkansas on November 25 has a bad driving history.  He has received a string of traffic citations over the past six years.  He has been ticketed for speeding four times since 2001 and during the same period, was cited for having defective brakes.  Tapia was driving a bus on November 25, 2007 when he crossed the median and crashed into a tractor trailer and a pick-up truck, killing three people.

November 26, 2007
Chicago Tribune: Three Killed in Arkansas Bus Crash
A Texas-based passenger bus owned by Tornado Bus Company, traveling from Chicago to Dallas, crossed a highway median near Forrest City, Arkansas and crashed into a pick-up truck and tractor trailer, killing three people, including two on the bus.  The bus was westbound on Interstate 40 around 10 p.m. when it veered across the median, and slammed into a pick-up truck, killing it's driver.  The bus then hit a tractor trailer, injuring the driver.  In addition to the three fatalities, 26 people were injured in this crash.