UNLICENSED AND UNINSURED

Company in Arizona bus crash 'knowingly operated illegally'

Reported by: Josh Bernstein
Email: jbernstein@abc15.com
Reported by: Maria Tomasch
Last Update: 9:49 am

Company in Arizona bus crash 'knowingly operated illegally'

PHOENIX -- A federal agency said Friday that the company operating the bus involved in Friday's deadly crash south of Phoenix was "knowingly operating the bus illegally."

The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a news release that California-based Tierra Santa Inc. was not insured.

MORE: 7 still critical after bus crash kills 6 on Arizona freeway

USDOT's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said Tierra Santa's application to provide interstate commercial transportation services in the United States was denied on December 14, 2009.

FMCSA notified the bus company "by certified mail" that it was not to provide interstate commercial transportation services in the United States.

A spokesperson for National Continental Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Progressive Insurance, tells ABC15 that Tierra Santa's insurance was cancelled back in November of 2009.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has no record of any other insurance for the company.

The U.S. Department of Transportation requires buses similar to the one involved in Friday's accident to carry a minimum of $5 million insurance.

According to the United States Department of Transportation, Tierra Santa owns and operates two buses like the one involved in Friday's crash.

The most recent federal inspection available indicates that one of the two buses may have been pulled off the road and is listed as "out of service," possibly due to violations.

However, the FMCSA inspection does not give any specifics about why the bus was pulled out of service.

FMCSA investigators were at Tierra Santa’s offices Friday conducting an onsite compliance review of the company’s safety operations.

Repeated calls for comment to Tierra Santa Inc. have not been returned.


U.S. Department of Transportation Statement on Fatal Phoenix Bus Accident

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced that Tierra Santa Inc., the company involved in the fatal bus crash in Phoenix today, was operating illegally. FMCSA investigators are on the premises of Tierra Santa’s place of business and conducting an immediate, onsite compliance review of the company’s safety operations.

After submitting an application to receive USDOT passenger carrier operating authority in April 2009, the carrier was immediately notified by FMCSA via certified mail that they were “not authorized to engage in the interstate transportation of passengers by commercial motor vehicle during the application review.â€