TOP STORIES
| Recommended 
Driver fatigue may be to blame for deadly bus crash
11:17 PM CST on Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Even though it happened in an instant, it could take days, if not weeks, before investigators determine exactly what caused a deadly bus accident near Victoria on Wednesday.
A total of 47 people were on the bus that ran off the road and landed on its side. One passenger was killed, nine others were critically injured.
Some witnesses say the driver swerved and then over-corrected. The early suspicions are that the driver may have been fatigued.
The passenger who was killed, was from Houston. Pedro Mendez died in the accident.
Jan. 2: At least one person was killed and dozens were injured when a charter bus from Mexico to Houston crashed onto its side near Victoria then was hit by a pickup truck.
Nov. 26: Three people died after a Dallas-bound passenger bus collided with a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 40 in northeastern Arkansas. The Tornado Bus Co. bus was westbound on I-40 10 miles east of Forrest City, Ark., when it veered across the median into eastbound lanes.
March 30, 2006: Two members of a Beaumont high school girls soccer team were killed after their bus rolled on its side on the way to a game. The team was traveling to Humble, near Houston, for a playoff game when the accident occurred on Highway 90 near Devers.
Aug. 25, 2006: Two people were killed when their pickup truck slammed head-on into a school bus in Southeast Texas near the Louisiana border. The crash happened on Texas 63, about five miles east of Burkeville in Newton County.
July 16, 2005: An elderly Texas woman was one of two people killed in a wreck that left more than two dozen injured when a car crashed head-on into a bus on a rain-slick highway near Doddridge, Ark., close to the Arkansas-Louisiana border.
Sept. 23, 2005: A bus carrying nursing home residents fleeing from Hurricane Rita was rocked by several explosions after catching fire on a gridlocked highway near Dallas, killing 23.
Oct. 25, 2005: A tour bus driver was killed after a tire blew out and caused the bus to cross Interstate 35 and hit two 18-wheelers in San Antonio. Two other bus passengers and the driver of one of the 18-wheelers were hospitalized.
May 24, 2004: A chartered casino bus returning to Texas from Louisiana collided with a tractor-trailer rig on Interstate 10 in Anahuac, killing one woman and sending numerous others to hospitals in Southeast Texas.
Feb. 14, 2003: A bus chartered by a Temple church group was south of Waco when it crossed the median and collided with a sport utility vehicle. Five bus passengers and two in the other vehicle died, and dozens were injured.
Dozens more were injured and taken to two Victoria-area hospitals. The most critical patients were flown to trauma centers in San Antonio.
“Some of the patients we admitted had broken bones. We had one fractured neck,” said Carolyn Knox of Citizens Medical Center. “We had trauma surgeons respond to the emergency department and repair those wounds.”
Published reports said woman's arm was amputated.
Houston's Capricorn Bus Lines, which operates the bus, said it only makes trips to Monterrey and back and that this is their first accident in nine years.
State investigators told 11 News that the company appeared to have all the necessary permits to transport passengers back and forth to Mexico and had no previous citations issued.
Nevertheless, those investigating are trying to determine if driver fatigue may have been a contributing factor to the accident.
The trip from Monterrey to Houston takes about 8 ½-hours. By law, bus drivers are not allowed to drive more than 10 straight hours and then must take eight hours off.
There are unconfirmed reports this bus driver drove to Monterrey and then, without rest, turned around and came back.
But, bus passenger Eduardo Trevino, who made it back to Houston Wednesday, says he and the bus driver were actually talking with one another just as the bus lost control. He said the driver didn't appear to be tired.
"I feel very, very fortunate to be alive,” said Trevino. “I was born again.”
Inside KHOU.com
News Your Way: Get KHOU.com headlines
delivered to your favorite RSS reader.
Submit Your Video: Upload your videos and browse others in our video section.
Find Activities: What's happening in your neighborhood? Community Calendar.
Discuss the News: Talk about the latest news, weather and entertainment headlines in our online forums.
Headlines in Your Inbox: Sign up for our e-mail alerts.
More Top Stories
Popular Stories
You must be logged in to contribute. Log in | Register Now!
You are logged in as screenname | Log Out
You are logged in, but do not have a "screen" name. Create a Screen Name