August 13, 2008 – Legal Loophole Cited In Texas Bus Crash Probe
A fatal bus crash that occurred in Texas last week has prompted federal authorities to temporarily cease all approvals for new bus companies, because a loophole in federal regulations allowed banned bus companies to re-open under new names.
Seventeen people were killed in last Friday’s crash, when en route to a religious festival, and dozens of others were injured. Six of thesurvivors, including the bus driver, remained in critical condition as of Monday.
According to initial reports, the bus crash, which is the nation’s deadliest since 2005, occurred when the charter bus blew an illegally treaded tire, skidded and overturned.
The bus involved in the accident was registered to Iguala Busmex, a Houston-based company owned by Angel De La Torre.
Following Friday’s tragedy, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) said that “grossly deficient vehicle maintenance” contributed the accident. The agency ordered Iguala Busmex, and Angel Tours, Inc., another company owned by De La Torre, to cease commercial operations Sunday, after finding that the companies posed an “imminent hazard.” A second order issued to Angel De La Torre, said that his “activities in connection with motor carrier operations pose an imminent hazard to the public.”
De La Torre De la Torre apparently opened Iguala Busmex just three days after federal investigators banned Angel Tours from interstate travel due to safety violations. Under current federal motor carrier regulations, it is entirely legal to do such a thing. Iguala Busmex had received a U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) number but had not been approved for operation at the time of the accident.
The FMCSA typically approves 100 new bus company applications every month, but the FMCSA’s administrator, John H. Hill, has said that until his agency can get a better handle on whether other operators are attempting the same thing as De La Torre, all new applications will be halted.
According to Texas transportation officials, even if the loophole had been closed, the accident might still have occurred because De La Torre had no interest in following the law. The Texas Department of Public Safety pointed out that even though De La Torre obtained a USDOT number for his new company, he had not yet been given authority to operate his buses, but did so anyway, in violation of the law.
The Harris County District Attorney is considering filing criminal charges against De La Torre. The last time a Texas bus operator was subject to prosecution, was after the 2005 Hurricane Rita bus crash near Dallas that killed 23 nursing home patients. Owner Jim Maples was convicted of failure to maintain his buses and sentenced to six months of home incarceration and six months in a halfway house.
