Investigators sift through evidence in fatal tour bus crash

By Mary Manning

Published Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 | 1:46 p.m.

Updated Saturday, Jan. 31, 2009 | 3:29 p.m.

Federal and state investigators began piecing together clues Saturday that could help them determine what caused a tour bus to crash south of the Hoover Dam on Friday, killing seven Chinese tourists.

National Transportation Safety Board Senior Highway Investigator Pete Kotowski met Saturday with officers from the Arizona Department of Public Safety in Phoenix. Kotowski is part of a six-member team from the federal agency that will examine evidence in the crash, which left nine people injured.

It could take months for investigators to determine the cause of the crash.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety sent its Vehicular Crimes and Reconstruction Unit to the scene of the crash Friday.

The 24-passenger 2007 Chevrolet Starcraft bus with 16 people on board veered off northbound U.S. 93 about 27 miles south of the Hoover Dam at about 3:06 p.m. Las Vegas time. The driver then overcorrected and crossed the median, said Lt. James Warriner of the Arizona Department of Public Safety. The bus then tipped over onto its right side across the two southbound lanes of the four-lane divided highway.

Six people ejected from the bus died at the scene, Warriner said. A seventh person, a man in his 40s, died at University Medical Center about 5:30 p.m. Friday, said UMC spokesman Rick Plummer.

Portions of the highway were shut down until 3:30 a.m. Saturday until the wreckage was cleared, Warriner said. The bus has been impounded and secured at an Arizona Department of Transportation storage yard.

State of Arizona and federal authorities are coordinating efforts to identify all of the passengers through the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles, Warriner said. The phone number of the consulate is (213) 388-2566.

No passengers' names will be released until all of the families of the victims have been contacted, Warriner said.

Law enforcement responding to the crash scene included the Arizona Highway Patrol, the National Park Service and the Golden Valley Fire Department. The Nevada Highway Patrol assisted Arizona authorities by providing translation services.

Five patients remained at University Medical Center on Saturday, including an 8-year-old boy and the tour bus driver, Plummer said. The boy was taken to UMC's Pediatric Emergency Room, where he was in serious condition Saturday, Plummer said.

The other victims taken to UMC included a 61-year-old man in fair condition, a 48-year-old man in critical condition, a 35-year-old woman in serious condition and another woman whose condition wasn't available Saturday.

An 18-year-old woman and a 57-year-old man were upgraded from critical to serious condition Saturday at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Ashlee Seymour said. Three patients were taken to Kingman Regional Medical Center in Arizona, including a 41-year-old woman listed in fair condition.

Dean Nyhart, commander for the northern division of the Arizona Highway Patrol, said investigators will fingerprint the crash victims and compare physical features with photographs found in passports. Many of the victims had facial cuts and bruises.

The bus company, DW Tour & Charter of San Gabriel, Calif., was certified by the California Public Utilities Commission on July 8, 2008. The company was cited on Oct. 27, 2008, along with 18 other transportation companies, and fined. No further details were available about the citation.

Federal agency databases revealed that DW Tour & Charter had not been involved in any other accidents.

No one from the company responded on Saturday to a call or e-mail.