Driver in deadly tour bus crash in Utah was on his 1st trip
SALT LAKE CITY — The driver of a tour bus that crashed near a national park in Utah, killing four Chinese tourists and injuring dozens more, was making his first trip for a company that had only been in business for a short time, investigators said.
The National Transportation Safety Board is researching the driver’s background, license qualification and medical history, Pete Kotowski, an investigator-in-charge for the agency, said at a news conference Sunday night. He didn’t disclose the driver’s name but said he’s from California. The agency has not yet interviewed him.
The NTSB is also researching the bus company’s inspection history, hiring practices and corporate safety culture, Kotowski said. The company, called America Shengjia Inc., based in Ontario (San Bernardino County), is cooperating with investigators, he said.
The U-Tour Group in Shanghai, China, said in a statement Monday that the driver was qualified, the bus was insured and the travel agency was properly registered with China’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism.
The cause of the Friday crash near Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah has yet to be determined, Kotowski said.
Utah Highway Patrol officials previously said it appeared the driver swerved and over-corrected, sending the bus rolling over into a guardrail near a highway rest stop a few miles from the park. The crash left the top of the bus smashed in and one side peeling away as the vehicle came to rest mostly off the side of the road.
The deceased were part of a group made up of 29 tourists and one leader. They come from Shanghai and the provinces of Zhejiang, Jiangsu and Heilongjiang, according to a news report on the media website huanqiu.com.
Brady McCombs and Lindsay Whitehurst are Associated Press writers.