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Attorney: Bus driver in Rita accident granted bond

05:32 PM CST on Thursday, November 10, 2005

Associated Press

HOUSTON – A Mexican national accused in the deaths of 23 elderly nursing home residents in a bus fire while they fled Hurricane Rita was granted bond and should be freed by Monday, his attorney said Thursday.

Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, has been detained in Houston for about two weeks as a material witness to a federal investigation.

Federal prosecutors deposed Robles on Thursday, a day before a deadline set by U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson when she detained Robles, said his attorney, George Shaffer.

Shaffer, hired by the Mexican government to represent Robles, said U.S. Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley granted Robles $50,000 bond at a hearing Thursday. But Robles can't leave federal custody until immigration officials also grant bond to Robles, who still faces immigration charges for being in the United States illegally.

Nancy Herrera, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said she could not confirm any court action in the case Thursday. Nina Pruneda, spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Antonio, said she could not confirm whether Robles would get bond on the immigration charges.

The agreement reached Thursday would give Robles a temporary visa until the bus accident case is resolved, Shaffer told a news conference at the Mexican consulate. He will stay with an uncle in the Houston area, but expects to eventually move back to a small town outside Monterrey, Mexico.

“He is very happy that his incarceration is almost over,� Shaffer said. “He is very grateful. He is beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel.�

A state grand jury in Dallas is considering 23 criminal negligent homicide cases against Robles.

The bus caught fire outside Dallas about 16 hours after leaving Houston with residents of the Brighton Gardens nursing home. Some passengers and the driver escaped, but the flames, fed by 18 medical oxygen tanks that also caused explosions, trapped many inside.

Federal regulators shut down the bus company, Global Limo Inc., of Pharr, last month.

Investigators have focused on the condition of the bus brakes. A motorist told investigators he motioned the driver to pull over because he noticed a rear wheel hub that was glowing red.

Authorities said Robles did not mention the encounter with the other driver when they interviewed him after the fire.