Thread: Bus full of illegals flips, 6 dead.

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

Arizona bus crash kills 6

The vehicle, which rear-ended a pickup truck south of Phoenix, was operating illegally from Mexico, authorities say. Sixteen people are injured.




The bus company, Tierra Santa Inc. -- which has offices in Van Nuys and the city of Durango, Mexico -- was operating without federal permission, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. The firm ran two motor coaches and employed four drivers, according to federal records.

In April, the company applied to the Department of Transportation for permission to operate in the United States, as is required for companies running routes across state lines. But the application was denied in December, said department spokesman Duane DeBruyne. "They knew they were running illegally," he said.

The company failed to show that it could meet federal requirements, including drug and alcohol testing of its drivers and proper vehicle maintenance, DeBruyne said

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

6 people killed in bus crash south of Phoenix
By JACQUES BILLEAUD and AMANDA LEE MYERS (AP) – 3 hours ago

SACATON, Ariz. — The bus that rolled over on a busy interstate outside Phoenix, killing six people and leaving 16 others injured early Friday, was operating illegally, federal transportation officials said.

The operator of the bus — Van Nuys, Calif.-based Tierra Santa Inc. — was told in April and December not "to engage in the interstate transportation of passengers by commercial motor vehicle," a Department of Transportation statement said.

The first notice, sent via certified mail, came just days after the company submitted a passenger carrier application to the department's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The application was denied on Dec. 14. The department's statement didn't give a reason.

The bus in Friday's accident was traveling from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas to Los Angeles.

It entered the United States at El Paso, Texas, and was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 with 22 passengers when it hit a pickup, veered onto the left shoulder of the road, then overcorrected in the opposite direction and rolled once before landing on its wheels. The roof of the bus was crushed and all of its windows were knocked out.

The crash occurred about 5:30 a.m. MST on the Gila River Indian Reservation near the community of Sacaton, some 25 miles south of downtown Phoenix. Two men and four women were thrown about 10 yards from the bus and killed.

Police said the rollover triggered a second accident when another pickup slowed and was hit by a sedan. One person from the car was taken to a hospital.

Arizona Department of Public Safety officials said their investigation will include whether the driver was fatigued, as well as the maintenance history of the bus.

Federal investigators were reviewing Tierra Santa's safety operations at the company's Van Nuys office.

A man who answered the phone Friday at Tierra Santa declined to identify himself, and said in Spanish that the company is meeting with authorities about the crash and he couldn't comment. He declined to answer when asked about whether the company was operating illegally.

The company never had federal operating authority, Department of Transportation spokesman Duane DeBruyne said.

A random federal inspection of one of the company's buses in Texas in August found that the vehicle was operating illegally and wasn't allowed to continue its trip.

The inspection also found that the bus had multiple safety issues, including nonexistent or defective emergency exits, and that the driver didn't have proper identification and didn't speak English.

It wasn't immediately known if that Tierra Santa bus was the same one involved in Friday's accident.

Another random inspection conducted by state officials in Arizona July found that a driver didn't speak English, and a state inspection in New Mexico in September found there was a lighting problem; the drivers were given citations, but neither inspection found that the buses were operating illegally, according to department records.

It's unclear why the company was able to continue operating after the inspections.

"It's so early in the investigation, there's so many things we don't know," DeBruyne said.

Nine patients, including the driver, were in critical condition at Phoenix-area hospitals, some with injuries ranging from broken spines and pelvises to head injuries, according to the hospitals.

An 11-year-old boy was in guarded condition, and four people were in good condition. The condition of two more people at a local hospital was not released.

Alex Porras said his sister, Jasmine Porras, was coming back from a two-week vacation in Mexico. The 25-year-old had just graduated from Arizona State University with a nursing degree and was hoping to start working soon, he said. She was critically injured but her condition was upgraded to serious Friday evening.

"I was shocked when I got the call," a red-eyed Porras told The Associated Press at Maricopa Medical Center. "We're really worried."

Both westbound lanes of I-10 were closed for several hours near the scene of the wreck, which quickly became a mass of police and rescue personnel as ambulances arrived.

Medics set up a triage area in the middle of the interstate, and medical helicopters landed on the road to airlift the most critically injured to area hospitals.

Associated Press writers Mark Carlson and Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix contributed to this report.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/art ... wD9E8RCA80

"The vehicle, which rear-ended a pickup truck south of Phoenix, was operating illegally from Mexico, authorities say. Sixteen people are injured."

Seems these mexirats cannot abide by ANY of our laws.

30 hours after the crash we know less about the bus company, the driver and passengers combined than we knew about Joe the plumber.

This is not a one time deal folks. these busses are all over I-10, 24-7. Need to track this one back to the border crossing, find out why it was allowed to pass, why its paperwork got rubberstamped. Somebody needs to be held responsible, or that somebody needs to identify the policies and procedures which allow this to happen.

Janet N, step up and do your job!

RELATED - UPDATE

Feds say bus in deadly Ariz. crash was operating illegally

http://www.alipac.us/ftopicp-1025062.html#1025062

Paramedics Hail 'Hero' Boy From Arizona Bus Crash


4th Grader Translates During Aftermath

POSTED: Saturday, March 6, 2010
UPDATED: 9:01 pm EST March 6, 2010

SACATON, Ariz. -- A bilingual 4th grader hurt in an Arizona bus accident that killed six people and injured more than a dozen others translated from an ambulance stretcher for busy rescue workers as they hurried to set up a triage center, authorities said Saturday.

Oscar Rodriguez of Las Vegas, Nev., was labeled a hero by firefighters and paramedics for helping them communicate with non-English speaking passengers just after Friday's pre-dawn crash on a busy interstate.

They presented him with gifts and a certificate that reads "Hero of the day" during a visit with him at a Phoenix hospital Saturday.

"This kid stayed calm and was brave more than any other veteran I've worked with," said Kenneth Leslie, a paramedic who with his partner were the first to arrive at the scene.

The bus was traveling from the central Mexican state of Zacatecas to Los Angeles.

It entered the United States at El Paso, Texas, and was headed to Phoenix to change drivers when it hit a pickup truck, veered onto the left shoulder of the road, overcorrected and rolled. The roof of the bus was crushed and its windows were knocked out.

Rodriguez, 11, was one of 22 passengers aboard the bus when it crashed at about 5:30 a.m. MST on the Gila River Indian Reservation, some 25 miles south of downtown Phoenix.

Rodriguez and 15 others suffered injuries, including broken spines and pelvises and head injuries. More than a dozen people remained hospitalized Saturday, including the bus driver who was among nine listed in critical condition at area hospitals.

Maricopa Medical Center hospital spokesman Michael Murphy called Rodriguez "a real trouper" and said he was in good condition. He didn't offer specifics on Rodriguez's injuries.

Federal transportation officials said the bus, owned by Van Nuys, Calif.-based Tierra Santa Inc., was operating illegally. The company was told in April and again in December not to transport passengers across state lines.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety has wrapped up its investigation, and spokesman Bart Graves said details will be released sometime next week.

___

Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com

http://www.news4jax.com/nationalnews/22 ... etail.html

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€

Just over 1200 miles and 17 hours from Zacatecas to Phoenix. How many of those miles had been driven by one driver? Truck drivers in the US are limited as to how many hours they can drive AND how many hours before they can drive again. The numbers don't add up here.