Deadly tour bus crash recalls 2009 wreck
Source: Agencies |
August 12, 2010, Thursday
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THE Japanese driver of a tour bus that crashed and killed three tourists in the US state of Utah was under investigation yesterday, after authorities suggested he had been distracted before the accident.
The van-sized bus had been carrying Japanese tourists to Bryce Canyon National Park on Monday when it rolled over and stopped in a mangled, upside-down heap off the highway. It had been traveling on a straight section of Interstate 15 in southern Utah, prosecutors said.
Three of the passengers were found dead at the scene, while 11 were injured, with seven in critical condition late Tuesday.
Prosecutors said the 26-year-old driver faces possible criminal charges, and investigators blamed driver error.
"From all indications, the driver was not focused or paying attention on his driving," said Utah Highway Patrol official Ted Tingey. "He was possibly drowsy at the time, and that's when he went off the left side of the road and rolled it."
The accident happened kilometers from a 2009 bus crash that claimed six Chinese tourists near Hoover Dam, and was also blamed on driver distraction.
A National Transportation Safety Board report issued in June said the Hoover Dam crash might have been prevented if the board's recommendations for stability control improvements and lane departure warning system had been adopted by the Department of Transportation.
The NTSB also has called for improved passenger restraints and strengthened windows and roofs on mid-size commercial buses.
The Utah Highway Patrol said it would not identify the driver in Monday's crash because he was under investigation. Names of most passengers were released.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett is screening the case for possible charges, Trooper Todd Johnson said.
Seven passengers were flown in critical condition to hospitals in the Salt Lake City area, 402 kilometers away from the crash scene, including a 14-year-old girl from Osaka.
Some of the other four injured passengers have been released from a Cedar City hospital. The bus driver also was treated for minor injuries and released.
Hiroki Hayase, a 20-year-old man from Osaka, was killed in the crash, authorities said. The identities of two others who died - a 38-year-old man and 40-year-old woman, both from Tokyo - have not been released by authorities who are trying to notify relatives in Japan.
The bus tour started in Las Vegas, made a stop at Utah's Zion National Park and crashed at 6:40pm about 90 miles short of Bryce Canyon, authorities said.
Bryce Canyon is a popular stop for foreigners who account for about half of the 2 million visitors it gets in a year, a spokesman said.
The van-sized bus had been carrying Japanese tourists to Bryce Canyon National Park on Monday when it rolled over and stopped in a mangled, upside-down heap off the highway. It had been traveling on a straight section of Interstate 15 in southern Utah, prosecutors said.
Three of the passengers were found dead at the scene, while 11 were injured, with seven in critical condition late Tuesday.
Prosecutors said the 26-year-old driver faces possible criminal charges, and investigators blamed driver error.
"From all indications, the driver was not focused or paying attention on his driving," said Utah Highway Patrol official Ted Tingey. "He was possibly drowsy at the time, and that's when he went off the left side of the road and rolled it."
The accident happened kilometers from a 2009 bus crash that claimed six Chinese tourists near Hoover Dam, and was also blamed on driver distraction.
A National Transportation Safety Board report issued in June said the Hoover Dam crash might have been prevented if the board's recommendations for stability control improvements and lane departure warning system had been adopted by the Department of Transportation.
The NTSB also has called for improved passenger restraints and strengthened windows and roofs on mid-size commercial buses.
The Utah Highway Patrol said it would not identify the driver in Monday's crash because he was under investigation. Names of most passengers were released.
Iron County Attorney Scott Garrett is screening the case for possible charges, Trooper Todd Johnson said.
Seven passengers were flown in critical condition to hospitals in the Salt Lake City area, 402 kilometers away from the crash scene, including a 14-year-old girl from Osaka.
Some of the other four injured passengers have been released from a Cedar City hospital. The bus driver also was treated for minor injuries and released.
Hiroki Hayase, a 20-year-old man from Osaka, was killed in the crash, authorities said. The identities of two others who died - a 38-year-old man and 40-year-old woman, both from Tokyo - have not been released by authorities who are trying to notify relatives in Japan.
The bus tour started in Las Vegas, made a stop at Utah's Zion National Park and crashed at 6:40pm about 90 miles short of Bryce Canyon, authorities said.
Bryce Canyon is a popular stop for foreigners who account for about half of the 2 million visitors it gets in a year, a spokesman said.
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