Thread: Feds say bus in deadly Ariz. crash was operating illegally

Mar 05, 2010

Feds say bus in deadly Ariz. crash was operating illegally

06:52 PM
David Kadlubowski,
The Arizona Republic/AP

Federal officials say the U.S.-Mexican bus company involved in fatal pre-dawn crash on Interstate 10 in Arizona was operating illegally across state lines and was uninsured.

Six passengers died and 16 were injured about 5:30 a.m. PT when a Los Angeles-bound bus owned by Tierra Santa Tours Inc. rear-ended a pickup truck, swerved into the median and then crossed back across the westbound lanes before rolling, the Arizona Republic reports. The bus originated in Zacatecas, Mexico, and had stopped in El Paso, Texas, before crashing south of Phoenix.

The company is based in Los Angeles and Durango, Mexico. In December the Department of Transportation rejected the company's application to operate in the United States. The company's $5 million insurance policies were canceled in July and November, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
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Bus company in deadly crash near Phoenix operating illegally, government says

by Weston Phippen and Glen Creno -
Mar. 5, 2010 04:20 PM
The Arizona Republic .

The bus company involved in a deadly crash south of Phoenix Friday morning was operating illegally across state lines, according to federal officials.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation said Tierra Santa Inc. had filed application for operating authority in April, and that the company was notified by certified mail during the review process that it was not authorized to haul passengers interstate.

The company's application was denied in December.

Federal investigators said they were examining the company's California site for safety compliance. The crash happened about 5:30 a.m. on westbound Interstate 10 when the bus rear-ended a Ford F-150 truck, swerved into the median of the divided highway, then back across the westbound lanes.

It crossed the right-hand shoulder, left the road and rolled.

Six people were ejected and killed. Sixteen others were injured and taken to hospitals.

The westbound lanes of Interstate 10, which had been closed at mile post 173 near the Pinal County border, were reopened Friday mid-afternoon.

"I am deeply saddened by this tragic accident and troubled that this carrier continued to operate without authority and without regard for the safety of its passengers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. "The Department will take every action at its disposal to keep companies like this one off the road."

Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves said two men and four women were killed in the bus crash. Up to 23 passengers were believed to be on board. All those killed and injured were on the bus.

Initial reports from authorities indicated there may have been an accounted-for person beneath the wreckage but crews have since confirmed there are no additional dead or injured.

Eleven of the injured were taken by ambulance to various hospitals and five were flown by medical helicopter, he said.

Among the injured were two 11-year-olds and a 16-year-old, Graves said.

The accident scene became a mass of police and rescue personnel as ambulances arrived and rescuers broke out windows of the bus to get to the victims, who were treated in an area in the middle of the interstate.

The bus originated from Zacatecas, Mexico and had stopped in El Paso, Texas, on its way to Los Angeles.

Augustine Vavages saw the accident from the window of his house.

"It was kind of still dark, and I could here it turning over and over and dust was in the air," Vavages said. Only a few yards away, Vavages said, he could hear the screeching of tires and the crumpling of metal as the bus rolled and scraped across the ground.

The traffic was fairly heavy, Vavages said. After the bus stopped moving, he could see people on the freeway running around.

The bus had nearly all of its windows smashed in, either from the rollover or by officers trying to reach injured survivors. The top of the bus was partially caved in and severely mangled.

Eight survivors are being treated at the Maricopa Medical Center for injuries that include bleeding in the brain, damaged lungs, broken spines and broken pelvises. Of the eight patients, six have life-threatening injuries, said Michael Murphy, a spokesman for the hospital.

The driver of the bus suffered severe injuries and was being treated at Maricopa Medical Center.

The bus is owned by Tierra Santa Tours Inc.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation, the company's $5 million insurance policies were canceled in July and November. A customer service operator for National Continental Insurance Co., a division of Progressive, confirmed that the policy numbers were not active.

Bus company officials were not immediately available for comment.

Tierra Santa is a tourism transport company based in Los Angeles and Durango, Mexico. The company was founded in 1997, according to the company Web site.

In 2007 Tierra Santa partnered with Transportes Turisticos Real de Minas, a tourism transport company based in Fresnillo, Zacatecas. The group provides transportation from several cities in Mexico to cities in Arizona and California.

Two vehicles, a pickup truck and an Infiniti, also crashed after the bus veered off the road. The Infinity collided into the back of the pickup and the passenger in the Infiniti was taken to the hospital with minor injuries.

Early reports said the bus hit a semitruck, but Graves said later the semitruck was not involved in the crash with the bus. Two non-injury accidents occurred behind the bus crash.

Reporters J.J. Hensley, Megan Boehnke and Eddi Trevizo contributed to this story.

http://www.azcentral.com/community/pina ... lls-6.html

Our borders are secure.... just ask Napolitano... I just wonder when the terrorists that are currently In the U.S via Mexico are going to strike ?

Four women and two men were killed. Their identities were not released Friday afternoon. The injured, whose ages ranged from 11 to 69, were rushed to hospitals; five were in critical condition.

The driver, 66, was injured and is believed to be a Mexican national. His name was not released. He had driven the bus since its entry into the United States at El Paso, officials said. A co-driver handled the first leg of the journey and intended to take over again when the bus reached Phoenix.

Authorities said they had not determined the cause of the crash, but they are examining all factors, including whether the driver was impaired. Weather was not an issue, Graves said.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and- ... 7200.story

How did this bus get through the border check???

GOD Bless those who died !! How sad Janet is not doing her Job...prayers for those in the hospital!

"I am deeply saddened by this tragic accident and troubled that this carrier continued to operate without authority and without regard for the safety of its passengers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. "The Department will take every action at its disposal to keep companies like this one off the road."

ROFLMAO!!! I mean really, we've got how many millions of illegal mexican nationals squatting here illegally and this guy is "shocked" the bus was operating without "authority"?!?!?!?!

These people do not respect our laws, way of life or safety of Americans!! The proof is in the pudding.

The company is based in Los Angeles and Durango, Mexico. In December the Department of Transportation rejected the company's application to operate in the United States. The company's $5 million insurance policies were canceled in July and November, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

So what do they do...operate anyway!!! Just another example of we are going to do what we want ; with your permission or not!

You wait on see... a lawsuit against our government for allowing a bus with no insurance or valid application to operate in the United States will be filed on behalf of those who were on that bus.

Originally Posted by SOSADFORUS

How did this bus get through the border check???

GOD Bless those who died !! How sad Janet is not doing her Job...prayers for those in the hospital!

My thoughts exactly.

Dixie

Originally Posted by Dixie

Originally Posted by SOSADFORUS

How did this bus get through the border check???

GOD Bless those who died !! How sad Janet is not doing her Job...prayers for those in the hospital!

My thoughts exactly.

Dixie

Me too. Say, maybe someone should ask Janet?

Bus company probed after I-10 crash kills 6

Calif.-based carrier has a history of safety violations

by Robert Anglen -
Mar. 6, 2010 12:00 AM
The Arizona Republic .

Photos from the scene
Injuries from head trauma to broken spines

The company that owns a tour bus that rolled over Friday on Interstate 10, killing six people, has a history of safety violations, no federal record of insurance and could not legally carry passengers in Arizona, The Arizona Republic has learned.


Transportation-safety records and federal regulators confirm the only two buses owned by Tierra Santa Inc. of Van Nuys, Calif., were not licensed to carry passengers across state lines.

But Tierra Santa's buses have been hauling passengers from Mexico across the Southwest to California, even though they were stopped and cited three times last year by state and federal transportation inspectors in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Federal regulators were unable to say Friday why the buses were allowed to continue operating.

"I cannot comment. It is an ongoing investigation," said Duane DeBruyne, a Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration spokesman, referring to a probe launched after the crash. "I can say (Tierra Santa) does not possess U.S. Department of Transportation operating authority."

The state and federal inspectors' reports show that one of the buses was pulled off the road and declared "out of service" when it was cited in Texas in August. In that stop, inspectors cited the bus for lack of insurance and an interstate license, defective lights, defective emergency exits, inoperable lamps and other maintenance issues.

The other two citations occurred in July and September.

Records also show that drivers working for the company failed two out of three safety inspections and were deemed an "imminent hazard to safety." Drivers were cited for not speaking English and failing to provide identification to passengers.

Officials with Tierra Santa refused to comment Friday about the safety or licensing issues. A man who identified himself as the company's owner said Friday that his company had insurance, but he said the safety concerns were "none of your business."

The crash occurred at 5:25 a.m. when, Arizona Department of Public Safety officers say, the bus, which was carrying 22 passengers, rear-ended a pickup truck, fishtailed and swerved onto the median. The driver overcorrected, swerved back across the freeway, slammed into the edge of the roadway and rolled down an embankment.

As the bus rolled, its roof collapsed, windows shattered and six passengers were ejected and killed; their bodies were thrown as far as 30 feet away from the crushed hulk of the bus.

Officers said 16 people who remained inside the bus suffered varying degrees of injury and were transported to local hospitals.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, Tierra Santa's operations were suspended for lack of insurance in April 2009. The company's insurance carrier said Friday that two policies listed on federal records were no longer active.

Federal records show the company obtained a $5 million policy through National Continental Insurance Co., a division of Progressive, which was canceled July 30. The company obtained a second policy on Aug. 20 that was canceled on Nov. 27. Progressive officials would not say why the policies were canceled.

DeBruyne, of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, which regulates and licenses interstate buses, said the agency also has "no record of their insurance."

He said Tierra Santa applied for an interstate license in April and was rejected in December. He said companies applying for licenses must submit plans to ensure drivers pass regular drug and alcohol tests, have valid commercial driver's licenses, obtain medical certificates and comply with federal driving limits. The company must also show that it has the ability to maintain its vehicles.

After Tierra Santa submitted its application, the administration requested additional information, which the company never provided, DeBruyne said.

"You are not authorized to engage in interstate transportation of passengers by commercial motorized vehicles," the administration said in a certified letter to Tierra Santa in December.

Tierra Santa's headquarters is located in a shabby commercial district on Victory Boulevard in Van Nuys, sandwiched between a bail-bond operation and a muffler shop. Another nearby business is a check-cashing operation that advertises wire transfers to Mexico.

Todd Glickman of Glickman Bail Bonds said the bus often parks on the street in front of his office, where passengers, mostly Hispanic, disembark.

"It's a big huge bus that parks there," Glickman said. "A tour bus. When it can't park there because of cars, it parks down the street."

But since 2008, Arizona has seen three crashes involving tour buses that have left 22 dead. The latest accident underscores what some safety experts say are insufficient safety standards for tour buses, or so-called motor coaches.

No national laws exist that compel companies to equip buses with safety belts, reinforced roofs or safety glass. When a bus rolls over, passengers can be tossed about like dice in a cup and thrown out.

That was the case in 2008 when a charter bus loaded with members of a Phoenix-based ski club crashed near the Arizona-Utah border, killing nine, including three Deer Valley high-school students. It was also the case in a 2009 crash near Hoover Dam when a small tour bus rolled over and seven people died.

"In more than half of these crashes where buses roll or fall over, passengers are ejected," said Phoenix lawyer Pat McGroder, who represents 15 victims of the Utah crash or their families. "We've been talking about this for two decades, and still nothing has been done."

For more than a decade, the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates bus crashes on U.S. highways, has called enhanced safety on motor coaches one of its top priorities.

McGroder said the Department of Transportation and industry representatives continue to drag their feet when it comes to action, saying more studies need to be done.

"We don't need any more studies," McGroder said. "Nothing speaks more loudly than real-world crashes that result in deaths and serious injuries."

McGroder said the proof of enhanced safety can be seen every day at his warehouse in Phoenix, where the remains of the bus carrying the Phoenix ski club sit side by side with another wrecked Utah bus.

Although the circumstances in both crashes were similar - a rollover down an embankment - the outcomes were remarkably different.

That's because the second bus was designed to European standards with a reinforced roof, seat belts and safety glass.

McGroder said he recently petitioned Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., to support bills in the House and the Senate that would mandate seat belts and other safety improvements.

"It is time that the federal government act to ensure the safety of not only Arizonans, but all Americans who routinely use motor coaches for a means of transportation," McGroder wrote in January.

Officials with the American Bus Association, a trade organization representing 800 motor-coach companies in the United States, said they support standards, but must wait for federal mandates.

"It's really the role of the federal government to do the testing and come up with a standard," association President Peter Pantuso said Friday. "We have been urging them to move faster."

Pantuso maintains that illegal operators are to blame for as many as half of the fatal bus accidents.

The Tierra Santa bus not only went through several state checkpoints en route to California, it also passed through a border-inspection checkpoint when entering the United States. Pantuso said bus drivers crossing the border are rarely asked about licenses and inspections, but he said they should be.

"These are companies that never should have been allowed on the road," he said "That bus came across the border. Somebody should have been looking at that bus."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ ... gally.html