A charter bus rammed into a highway overpass in North Little Rock early Friday, killing six passengers and injuring another six, the Arkansas State Police said.
The bus -- traveling from Monroe, Mich., to Laredo, Texas -- was headed west on Interstate 40 about 1 a.m. when it struck a concrete barrier on the right side of the interstate, some 200 feet away from the North Hills Boulevard overpass, state police said. The bus then continued in that route before slamming into a supporting structure of the overpass, authorities said.
State police are investigating what led to the early-morning crash in which six of the 22 passengers were killed immediately. Of the six, three were thrown from the bus, two were still in the bus and another was partially thrown out, state police said. Investigators did not release the names of the dead, as they were working Friday to notify their families.
The Mexican government said late Friday that 19 people on the bus were Mexican citizens with work visas, including the six who died and the six who were injured. The other three people on the bus, including the driver, are from Florida, according to the state police.
"First and foremost, this is a tragedy," said Col. Bill Bryant, director of the Arkansas State Police. "Upon arriving on the scene, there were six fatalities, so our thoughts and prayers go out to these families who lost their loved ones this morning."
The bus -- driven by Roberto Vasquez, 28, of Arcadia, Fla. -- is owned by Vasquez Citrus & Hauling, Inc., based in Lake Placid, Fla. The company's owner, Juan Vasquez, did not answer calls to a listed number, and the voice mail was full.
The six injured passengers were taken to UAMS Medical Center and Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock. All were released Friday, the state police said.
One of the passengers -- Rodolfo Meza Jr., 20, of Lake Placid, Fla., -- said he got glass shards in his knee.
At the time of the crash, everyone had been asleep, Meza said. They were shaken awake when the bus hit the concrete barrier, he said. No one knew what happened, and the scene quickly turned chaotic, he said.
"The slamming," Meza said, was what woke him. "Everyone was coming out of the bus really fast."
The Red Cross helped find hotel rooms for the passengers who were uninjured. Volunteers also handed out coffee and blankets, said Brigette Williams, regional communications director for the Arkansas chapter.
"We are now in the process of providing mental-health support for them," Williams said. "Understandably, everyone is pretty traumatized by this event. And we'll also see what other needs they may have until they can resume their trip."
The bus was headed to Laredo to drop off the Mexican migrant workers, who pick fruit and vegetables in Michigan and Florida, Meza said. The company picks up and drops off the workers at the Texas-Mexico border town, he added.
An array of investigators -- including the National Transportation Safety Board, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and North Little Rock and Pulaski County authorities -- helped with the investigation Friday.
Federal records show the company was not registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an arm of the U.S. Department of Transportation, to operate in interstate commerce, meaning it could not transport cargo or passengers across states.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration could not talk specifically about Friday's crash.
Duane DeBruyne, a spokesman with the administration, said violation of the federal law is punishable by a fine up of up to $25,000. The U.S. Department of Justice also could pursue potential criminal charges.
A 2007 fatal crash just outside Forrest City was one that caught the eye of the Justice Department.
On Nov. 25, 2007, a bus, owned by Tornado Bus Co. out of Dallas, was headed west on Interstate 40 when it crossed the median some 12 miles outside Forrest City and collided with a pickup. The bus, which was headed to Dallas, was then struck by a tractor-trailer.
A federal investigation led to a $55,000 fine against the company, after the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division found the company violated provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The company had one handicap accessible bus in a fleet of 53, while federal law requires that at least 50 percent of a carrier's vehicles be accessible.
The driver of that bus -- Felix Badillo Tapia of Brownsville, Texas -- also pleaded guilty in 2009 in St. Francis County Circuit Court to a single count of manslaughter. Tapia, who prosecutors had said was under the influence of amphetamines, had faced four counts of negligent homicide -- a count per death -- but three of the charges were dropped because authorities couldn't locate witnesses or family members to attend the plea hearing.
Vasquez Citrus & Hauling owns six buses and/or trucks, according to federal records.
The bus involved in Friday's crash, though, had been purchased recently by the Florida company from Continental Charters in Detroit, according to state police and the bus's former owner.
Jeff Lawson, who identified himself as the owner of Continental Charters, said that on Oct. 31 he had sold a 1997 Van Hool bus, which was most recently inspected by his company in February or March, to a man who "said he needed a second bus to haul people from [Detroit] to Texas ... and Florida."
At the time of the crash Friday, the bus still had the Continental lettering on the sides.
Rodolfo Meza Sr., 43, who was on the bus, said it was the first time the company used the bus for a cross-country trip. Meza said he was one of the drivers for the bus but was not driving at the time. He said drivers switch every three to four hours.
Federal transportation laws allow for bus drivers to be on duty for not more than 15 hours, behind the wheel for 10 hours and off the wheel for eight hours. Drivers are still considered on duty should they drop off passengers at an event that lasts about three hours.
The company has had seven random roadside inspections of its buses or trucks during the past two years, federal records show. Buses are checked at terminals or at destinations, while trucks are inspected at weigh stations or truck stops.
Of the seven inspections, three determined the vehicle was out-of service, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. That status means the vehicle is an imminent hazard and cannot continue. None of those vehicles matched the license plate number from Friday's crash.
The company also had eight random inspections in the past two years of its drivers, and two were found to be "out-of-service," data show. For drivers, the designation could mean the operator didn't have a commercial license or was out of driving hours.
The company's last violation was recorded in May for a bus inspection, records show. The inspection found four vehicle maintenance violations including a lack of or defective emergency exits and failure to inspect or use emergency equipment. The bus also did not have a log book to record the hours each driver was on duty or behind the wheel.
Information for this article was contributed by John Moritz of Arkansas Online and by staff members of The Associated Press.
Metro on 11/07/2015