Bus in (TX) crash (15 dead) was on road illegally

Bus in crash was on road illegally
Company that may have owned vehicle had been ordered out of service
By GORDON DICKSON


The bus is uprighted this morning, hours after the wreck on northbound U.S. 75 in Sherman.
STAR-TELEGRAM / STEWART HOUSE


A bus that crashed early Friday in Sherman — killing at least 15 people — shouldn’t have been on the road, federal and state records show.

It was equipped with an illegal recapped tire on its front axle, which controls steering, crash investigators say. And the company that owned the vehicle, or a related company — investigators are still trying to sort out which — was still in operation more than a month after federal officials took steps to shut the operation down.

Critics say they’re again frustrated that more hasn’t been done to improve motor coach safety on U.S. roads.

"If these were regional airplanes that were crashing, and not motor coaches, Congress and everybody else would be on top of this to get something done," said Jackie Gillan, vice president of the Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

Angel Tours

The company, Angel Tours Inc. of Houston, that arranged transportation for 54 religious pilgrims from Houston to Missouri was banned from operating as an interstate carrier in June after federal officials found three critical safety violations. Even though the Houston bus crashed just south of the Oklahoma state line — not actually leaving Texas — it was considered an interstate motor coach because all the passengers bought tickets from Houston to Missouri, officials said.

more...

http://www.star-telegram.com/news/story/820383.html

Tehre are no deep pockets here. The bus company has nothing to offer and no pockets. Even if they ahd insurance, the insurance policy would not cover this as they were on the road illegally.

The only way these people even have a chance of having their hospital bills paid is if some big company retread the tires AND that is ruled the reason for the accident.

Even when the very existence of the 'corporate entity' is unlawful, the liability 'protections' are sacrosanct. :puke:

Putting that bus on the road was a criminal act, especially since 15 people died, so piercing the owner's veil is a given.

The problem is, even though you can pierce the veil of protection, the guy won't have enough in his personal pockets to cover the emergency services, let alone the hospital, lost income, and the deaths.

The Feds should investigate whether these poor dead folks were insured and who benefited.
Bet they prayed before they left - 'trust in the lawd' and all that stuff. More snake oil bought by the gullible.

15 people dead and you respond with this tripe.

Did you read or hear any of the stories?

These people were Vietnamese Catholics. The biggest problem the hospital had was so many only spoke Vietnamese.

Angel Tours scammed these poor people and you ahve to piss on fifteen graves.

That's just fucking sick.

power to forgive, provide sanctuary, and uphold the calling of specific pedophile priests, can also order "charity" for these less fortunate and reknown pilgrims through Catholic hospitals, etc... Indulgent thinking, no?

these people for what they believed?

I think it's a sad story that didn't have to end this way.

Too bad.

that was illegal. This is why.

have been more issues besides the tires.

In Texas, motor coach companies that travel across state lines are required annually to submit a unified carrier registration number to the Texas Department of Transportation’s motor carrier division. Angel Tours registered a UCR in Texas in 2007 but allowed the registration to expire this year, department spokesman Robert Anderson said.

Iguala Busmex has no number on file at the Austin office and also cannot legally operate, he said.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, in a company profile of Angel Tours, cited numerous safety violations during 26 inspections the past two years. Some of the violations occurred at Texas international points of entry and included problems with lights, tires and brakes, as well as driver errors such as speeding and logbook violations.

But federal and state officials lack the authority necessary to shut down businesses that fail inspections, critics say.

Ain't deregulation grand?

Take your brain-dead hatred of Texas and shove it up your ass....

Nothing- and I repeat nothing coming out of Texas should surprise anyone.

Your state and culture it promotes has more than earned its sorry reputation around the world.

I was addressing a potentially misleading or confusing sentence in the article:
"It was equipped with an illegal recapped tire on its front axle, which controls steering, crash investigators say."

This sentence seems to suggest that recaps are themselves illegal, when in fact they are only prohibited from use on steering axles and are totally legal and acceptable on any other axle. It's a minor point, but it bothered me.