Officials confer at the scene of a fatal tour bus accident Jan. 30, 2009, on U.S. 93 near Dolan Springs, Ariz. Police said at least seven people died. The bus, carrying a Chinese tour group, was northbound toward Las Vegas before the crash.
Published Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | 9:43 a.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 22, 2010 | 11:10 a.m.
Fatal Tour Bus Crash
Police said at least seven people died Friday after a tour bus crashed about 28 miles south of the Hoover Dam.
Sun archives
- Feds launch separate investigation into tour bus crash (2-3-09)
- License suspended for owners of tour bus in crash (2-2-09)
- Boy, 8, leaves hospital, family returning to China (2-1-09)
- Investigators sift through evidence in fatal tour bus crash (1-31-09)
- Bus crash kills 7 tourists south of Hoover Dam (1-30-09)
A bus accident that killed seven tourists near the Hoover Dam last year was caused by driver inattention, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.
The board met this morning in Washington, D.C., to discuss an investigation into the accident and suggest changes to safety rules to prevent similar accidents in the future.
The 29-passenger bus was carrying 16 Chinese tourists returning to Las Vegas from a tour of Grand Canyon West on Jan. 30, 2009.
The bus crashed while traveling north on U.S. 93 near Dolan Springs, Ariz., about 27 miles south of Hoover Dam, killing seven passengers and injuring 10 people, including the driver.
The board released a synopsis of the investigation report following Tuesday’s meeting. The final report should be ready in a few weeks with safety recommendations to go to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The NTSB said the bus was traveling more than 70 mph when the driver was distracted while trying to fix a problem with the bus door. The driver then lost control of the vehicle, which moved left into another lane of the highway, the report said.
The driver then steered sharply to the right, causing the bus to cross both northbound lanes and go onto the right shoulder. The driver overcorrected to the left, the report said, causing the bus to cross both lanes again before entering the road’s median.
The bus rolled over and landed on its side. Of the 17 occupants on the bus, 15 were fully or partially ejected, the NTSB said.
The deaths were caused by the driver’s actions and the lack of restraints and safety features on the bus windows, the NTSB said.
The board recommended that medium-sized buses have additional safety features, including a lane departure warning system, stronger roofs, occupant protection and window glazing.
The board said if the bus had been equipped with a lane departure warning system, the driver might have been able to take corrective action more quickly to avoid the chain of events that led to the rollover.
The other safety features might have prevented the occupants of the bus from being ejected, the board said.
The company that operated the bus, DW Tour and Charter, had a safety management program that lacked periodic inspections, but the report said the condition of the vehicle did not cause or contribute to the accident.
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