Posted on 03/06/2010 8:09:50 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
The vehicle, which rear-ended a pickup truck south of Phoenix, was operating illegally from Mexico, authorities say. Sixteen people are injured.
Reporting from Denver - A bus operating illegally from Mexico and traveling through Texas and Arizona to Los Angeles slammed into the back of a pickup truck and rolled over early Friday morning in the Arizona desert, killing six passengers and injuring 16, authorities said.
"No one walked away unscathed," Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman Robert Bailey said from the crash scene, about 30 miles south of Phoenix.
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
Tierra Santa officials could not be reached for comment. Phone numbers for the company did not appear to be working Friday.
The bus began its trip near Durango, in the central Mexican state of the same name. In Arizona, it was headed west on Interstate 10 at 5:30 a.m. when the bus rear-ended a Ford F-150 truck.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
So, why was the bus allowed across the border?
Throw all the illegal aliens in jail, take their possessions and then toss them over the border. Stay in your own lousy country to rear end innocent people.
From what I know, I can’t remember if they do it here or Mexico, but the extra bus driver sleeps in the cargo area of the bus.
Seems like this driver fell asleep.
They were hoping John McCain would give them Amnesty....
So now they just bus them in.
¿Quién sabe?
The employees that allowed this bus to come into this country work for the same government that wants to run your healthcare.
I hope the company is sued out of existence.
Ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
I bet at least a good portion of the people on that bus were illegal aliens who have been working/living illegally in the US and had gone to Mexico for a visit with family. I had students who were likely illegal aliens and they went back to Mexico for extended visits every year. I never did ask them how they got back and forth across the border, but it didn’t seem to be difficult.
http://130.80.29.3/disp/story.mpl/ap/top/all/6900016.html
snip
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.
end snips
“The employees that allowed this bus to come into this country work for the same government that wants to run your healthcare.”
Yeah........
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.” The carrier’s application was officially denied on December 14, 2009.
“I am deeply saddened by this tragic accident and troubled that this carrier continued to operate without authority and without regard for the safety of its passengers,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood. “The Department will take every action at its disposal to keep companies like this one off the road.”
“Today’s accident is an unspeakable tragedy and our hearts go out to the victims and their families,” said FMCSA Administrator Anne S. Ferro. “Two weeks ago, I spoke in Phoenix about the importance of tightening the application and screening process to ensure companies with a history of safety violations are not permitted to jeopardize the safety of everyone on the road. Our number one priority is safety and we’re committed to preventing these kinds of needless accidents.”
http://www.abc15.com/content/news/investigators/story/Company-in-Arizona-bus-crash-knowingly-operated/qKOX6e0P2U2ubPxT3YT_wg.cspx
If they want to [operate buses illegally] here, they're just going to do it. There's no law or fence that will stop them. They're just [illegally operating buses] that no American would want to do. You try [operating buses illegally]. I bet you wouldn't last a week. /s
The inflection of that reporter's speech is just too much.
This was SO unnecessary. The article says five are in critical condition. The news reports are saying eight.
I-10 was shut down the entire day. Rescue workers, ETs, Firemen, Policemen, Helicopters, Ambulances; fire trucks, literally hundreds of CITIZENS involved in this rescue!
Those in critical condition are in ICU. Some may even be hospitalized for months.
And every penny of these expenses will be paid for by..............guess who?
“
This was SO unnecessary. The article says five are in critical condition. The news reports are saying eight.
I-10 was shut down the entire day. Rescue workers, ETs, Firemen, Policemen, Helicopters, Ambulances; fire trucks, literally hundreds of CITIZENS involved in this rescue!
Those in critical condition are in ICU. Some may even be hospitalized for months.
And every penny of these expenses will be paid for by..............guess who?”
You and me, babe, that’s who! Yet missing in ALL the debates over the ‘health care crisis’ is the millions of foreign nationals breaking the backs of our hospitals.
These kind of multi-fatality accidents involving illegal aliens occur fairly regularly here in Arizona. Various fire departments that respond refer to them as “Bean-spills.”
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