Federal Investigators Say Fatigue, Poor Safety Cause of Deadly California Bus Crash

Federal safety investigators say a sleep-deprived driver and a bus company with a poor safety record were causes of an August 2016 crash in California’s Central Valley that killed four passengers and injured 20 others, including the driver.

The National Transportation Safety Board said this week that the driver of a bus operated by Fresno-based Autobuses Coordinados USA Inc. had only slept about five hours over the 40 hours preceding the Aug. 2, 2016 crash.

The bus traveling from Los Angeles to Modesto drifted off the right side of Route 99 and struck a highway signpost that sliced the bus nearly from nose to tail.

The NTSB says the federal agency that regulates bus safety needs to move more aggressively to keep dangerous carriers off the roads.