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Aug 9, 2008 7:57 pm US/Central
Investigators Still Have Work To Do In Bus Crash
DALLAS (CBS 11 / TXA 21) ―
The National Transportation Safety Board said it still hasn't talked to the bus company owner or the person who owns the bus, but insists neither it nor a sister company were street legal.
At the time of the accident neither company was operating legally in interstate business commerce," NTSB board member Debbie Hersman said Saturday.
Officials have identified the driver as 52-year-old Barrett Wayne Broussard of Houston.
Public records show Broussard has criminal convictions -- including aggravated assault, unlawful use of human services funds, DWI and criminal trespass – that date back to 1994.
The NTSB acknowledged it still hasn't talked to him, but it hopes an event data recorder in the bus may have survived the crash.
"If it was maintained and we were successful in pulling that data off it, it might yield such things as the speed of the vehicle at the time of the collision and whether the driver was applying the accelerator or was applying the brakes," Hersman explained.
U.S. 75 reopened overnight and passersby have dropped off flowers and other gifts as a memorial during the past 24 hours.
NTSB officials won't say that a blown, illegally recapped tire on the right front side caused the wreck, but agree that tire was the first in a chain of events.
The agency promises more details Sunday, but cautions there may be no smoking gun anywhere.
"Usually an accident is not one thing," Hersman said. "It's a chain of events that leads to an accident."
Hersman added her agency only investigates causes of accidents and recommends improvements. It'll be up to police and others to determine if criminal charges should be brought against anyone.
The Sherman Police Department has set up a hotline -- 903-217-7651 -- for people trying to get their property from the bus or recover property of those killed in the crash.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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