Exclusive: Driver's violations blamed in bus fire

Dallas Morning News ^ | April 12, 2006 | MICHAEL GRABELL

[txroadkill]

The deaths of 23 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees in a horrific bus fire could have been prevented had the driver inspected the vehicle before leaving and known enough English to tell passengers where the emergency exits were, according to documents used to build a criminal case against him.

Those documents also assert that the driver, Juan Robles Gutierrez, admitted to investigators that he tried to avoid police detection by switching the bus's license plates.

The combination of all of these factors proved to be lethal," Dallas County sheriff's deputies wrote. "The driver's actions, had he been in compliance with the laws of this state and the [Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration], could have prevented the loss of 23 lives."

The documents, which include affidavits by investigators and passengers, shed light on why the sheriff's office decided to file a criminally negligent homicide case against Mr. Robles last fall in connection with the Sept. 23 bus fire outside Dallas – the deadliest U.S. transportation accident since a 2001 plane crash. Mr. Robles eventually was cleared by a Dallas County grand jury.

[txroadkill]

"In the confusion, I came across the bus driver, who was wandering around the scene disoriented and with soot on his mouth and nose," Deputy Edward Wilson said in his statement. "I led him to nurses and asked him for his license. He gave me what appeared to be a Mexican DL."

The sheriff's report said Mr. Robles was negligent for not having a valid Texas driver's license. State law allows people to drive on a Mexican license for 30 days. Mr. Robles had been in the U.S. for seven months.

That prevented state officials from assessing his driving skills because Mr. Robles would have had to pass a written exam and road test to get a Texas license, the report said.

The report also faulted Mr. Robles for driving 15 hours nonstop and for not speaking English. Federal regulations say bus drivers must be able to read road signs, fill out their logbook, talk to police and converse with the public.

Mr. Robles was only able to communicate with the lead caretaker on the bus, Bonnie Estes, who spoke Spanish but was not fluent, nursing home staff told the NTSB.

[txroadkill]

THE LAST MOMENTS
More harrowing details of the worst Texas bus accident in half a century were revealed in witness statements, crime scene photographs and reports released recently by the Dallas County Sheriff's Department.

BEFORE THE BLAST: With plans to be gone just a few days, the passengers had small suitcases and duffel bags. Many patients stuffed some clothes in plastic bags. The nursing home had food – a case of ready-to-eat meals and Aquafina water bottles.

FRAIL PASSENGERS: An inventory of the cargo compartments attests to their vulnerability: 22 wheelchairs, four walkers and three cases of large blue diapers.

FINDING THE FIRE: A passing pickup stopped in front of the bus to warn of the fire. The driver, Juan Robles Gutierrez, got out and swatted at the flames with his shirt. Despite their caregivers' pleas to escape, many patients refused to get up.

HELP ARRIVES: Passers-by frantically tried to break windows. Sheriff's Department Sgt. Patrick Fassett shined his flashlight through the thick smoke. "I could hear several people yelling for help, but I couldn't see them," he later said. Deputy Scott Evans ran to the driver's side for another way in. "I could hear the fire crackling and the windows popping," he said.

THE FINAL TOLL: The blast of the oxygen canisters blew Sgt. Fassett out of the bus and knocked Deputy Evans to the ground. Twenty-three patients died, some of them still in their seats, hands on the armrests, heads against the cushions.

[justche]

Ping

[txroadkill]

He said he got back on the bus and tried to grab the fire extinguisher but couldn't. A nursing assistant told National Transportation Safety Board investigators that an elderly patient had her foot on it and wouldn't budge. "It remained in its cradle unlatched until I pulled it off of the bus a day later," Sheriff's Department Sgt. Kevin Feinglas wrote.

[Dallas59]

I've ridden on Mexican buses....A taste of things to come...

[ARealMothersSonForever]

This was not a Mexican bus. This was a criminal American company that hired a Mexican national to drive a poorly maintained bus to move elderly people from Houston for the lowest bid. The low bid cost 22 lives. And the only one being punished is the man that drove the bus. Do you see anything wrong with this picture?

[SR 50]

ping

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

ping

[HiTech RedNeck]

Doesn't matter, he got off scot free anyhow.

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

=

[Lurker]

These are the kinds of folks that Frist, Hastert, and Bush don't want to be subject to any criminal penalties for crossing our borders illegally.

Amnestia thy name is dead Americans.

L

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Why should they be subjected to criminal penalties?

Don't you know that anyone born So. of the Rio Grande has immunity from criminal prosecution in perpetuity?

Just imagine if Martha Stewart's name was Martha Sanchez, and she had crossed into this country illegally.

Why, that whole messy, trumped-out perjury kerfuffle could have been swept under the rug.

[Lurker]

They would have put an 'immigration hold' on her, made her promise to show up in court sometime in the next 16 months, and then they would have let her go.

L

[Do not dub me shapka broham]

Yeah, that's pretty much how it would have went, if history is any guide.