More permit problems uncovered after deadly bus incident
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PORTLAND, Ore. – The man who was driving a party bus in downtown Portland when an 11-year-old girl fell out of an emergency exit window and died did not have a permit to drive that bus, city officials said Tuesday.
This revelation comes after KATU uncovered on Monday that the company also did not have a permit for the specific bus from the incident.
Party buses that pick up people in Portland need three different permits from the city:
• A permit for the company
• A permit for the specific bus
• A permit for the driver
Kathleen Butler with the City of Portland Revenue Bureau said Five Star Limousine did have a company permit, but the bus involved in the accident was not licensed and neither was the driver, Martin Brouwer.
That means the city never checked Brouwer’s background, investigated his driving record or tested his knowledge of city code. All are required to obtain a permit to drive a party bus.
The bus was also never checked by a certified mechanic, which is required in the permitting process.
Brouwer also did not have a commercial driver’s license, which is required anyone driving a vehicle with more than 16 passengers, according to the Oregon Department of Motor Vehicles.
“He’s going to do that. He says he’s going to do that. He already has the paperwork,” said Ferlin Brouwer, who lives with Martin Brouwer. “Who authorizes for my driver to do the driving? It is the manager.”
Five Star General Manager Rick Lycksell said on Sunday that he used to own the company before selling it to his fiancé.
The Washington Department of Revenue said Lycksell has owned many businesses in Washington and those businesses still owe more than $150,000 in taxes dating back more than 10 years.
Lycksell has also filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, KATU News has learned.
The City of Portland suspended Five Star Limousine during the police investigation. Lycksell has not returned calls from KATU News in the last two days.
Police still don’t know why the emergency window opened.
Brouwer said in a statement released through his lawyer on Tuesday that he is devastated over the incident that killed Angie Hernandez on Saturday night.
“Mr. Brouwer grieves deeply for the family of Angie Hernandez, and all who have been touched by her loss,” the statement said.
Brouwer said he made a donation to Angie Hernandez’s memorial fund.
Five Star Limousine also released a statement Tuesday, expressing condolences to Hernandez’s family and friends.
Statement from Martin Brouwer:
Martin Brouwer, Jr. is a full time father to his 10 year old daughter, and a part time employee of Five Star Limousine Service, on weekends, to supplement his family's income. He has been devastated and traumatized by this tragic accident, and is not in a position to speak personally about it at this time. He has asked me to issue this statement, because I have represented him and his family for more than a decade in matters of family business, and will represent him in this matter.
Mr. Brouwer grieves deeply for the family of Angie Hernandez, and all who have been touched by her loss. He has made a donation to the fund established for her, and will be cooperating fully with all investigations that are conducted to determine what happened that afternoon.
At this point, Mr. Brouwer can only convey his most sincere sense of profound sympathy for those who have suffered loss in this matter and continue to cooperate in every way possible. Mr. Brouwer also has a very ill wife at home, and asks that you respect his family's privacy at that residence.
Bradley J. Woodworth
Bradley J. Woodworth & Associates, PC
Statement from Five Star Limousine:
Five Star Limousine expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Angie Hernandez. This was a tragic accident. Five Star has made an initial contribution to a bank account to help Angie's family and asks anyone that wants to help her family make a contribution to this account. Donations can be made at any Wells Fargo Bank branch to the Angie Hernandez Memorial Fund.
Five Star has been and will continue to cooperate with law enforcement and various administrative agencies who are investigating how this accident occurred.
I feel horrible about this whole situation. AÂ little girl lost her life too young, but sometimes enough is enough.
Shame on the news stations for bringing up the owners bankruptcy. How many people do you know that have filed bankruptcy or who have lost a home in foreclosure or a job in the past 10 years. Does it make them a bad person? Does it have 1 pint of anything to do with this? And also, if you read the Drivers full statement at the bottom it states "Mr. Brouwer also has a very ill wife at home, and asks that you respect his family's privacy at that residence." Im pretty sure in the video above they are at his residence. The news is the bad guy, they have no reguard for anyone. They just try to sell stories and dont care who they hurt by making assumptions and jumping to their own conclusions.  Â
Why did the company and parents allow a bus full of children (up to 20) all under age 16 party on this party bus solo? This is the latest news on the situation. While the bus company should be liable to provide a safe bus (it hasn't come out whether a child opened the emergency window or if it was faulty -we can't speculate), Ultimately a party bus driver isn't an appropriate substitute for adult supervision. There are issues all around with this sad event. I feel for the family and the loss of a life of a child.
I'm not sure what this has to do with the accident. The girl was leaning against the emergency window. They are quick release/opening for emergencies.
In order for her to be sitting against the window, she had to be sitting up onto of the back of the seat and somehow pressed the release to open the window.
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How is a 'permit' issue going to help provide / explain this tragic accident? In all honesty, it wont. People in general need to be more mindful of their surroundings.
The whole idea of a Party Bus just sounds like an accident waiting to happen.
Sounds like the city has too many permits for things.
I don't know what happened here, but I've always hated those party buses....always so loud when they're going through the area. My condolences to the family and friends of this girl...may you.rest in peace, little one.
Portland permit process is there just to make money not for safety.
Has anyone even read the story ? Where is Forest Gump ? Below....
Maybe it is not 100% the driver's fault, but he is not blameless. Drivers are responsible for their vehicles no matter who owns them, and ignorance of that doesn't get you a free pass.Imagine what fun the freeway would be if truck drivers could say "not my fault, I wasn't the one that didn't secure the load I was hauling."
There is no excuse for not having a CDL. Maybe it doesn't make you a safer driver, but maybe it does. And it is the law. Sure, the limo company should be asking for one, but as a professional driver-which is what you are when you get a paycheck- you should also know the law.
Plenty of blame to go around, but the driver owns a piece of it.
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Man this sucks for Mr. Brouwer, but like others said it isn't his fault. Â He doesn't own the bus or the limo company, and he didn't know the city permit code issue and should only be fined for not having the permit.
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Its not like he went out of his way and removed the bolt or caused this by his driving erratically or something.  He was just driving and the bus fell apart.  End of story.
Actually I didn't mean that 'end of story' statement because we will likely hear more about this as time progresses.
So is this one of those laws or regulations that are stopping jobs?????
Weather or not the driver had the correct piece of paper or a background check isn't relevant, he was just driving. Its not his fault she fell out the emergency hatch. Now, the bus not being inspected is another story. They keep focusing on the driver, like he caused her death. Focus on the company not the driver.
 @snuggles I read elsewhere that a driver with certification to drive this bus would have known to check the emergency exit before taking the bus out, and would have noticed that the emergency exit was UNLOCKED. So perhaps it does matter what kind of papers the driver had. Regardless, it is irresponsible for a driver to drive a bus before he has received his commercial license; he knows that simply applying for it is not sufficient. The other party which knows this is the bus company owner, who is really in trouble. But he doesn't sound very responsible even before this accident happened. He might as well save his money for the lawsuit settlement he'll have to make (if he ever becomes solvent).
You assume the door was unlocked, I'm going to assume the girl unlocked it and stuck her head out.. then fell out
 @iamright555 I am assuming nothing. According to the Oregonian, it was determined, by an inspector, that the door was unlocked when the bus departed. This was determined after the accident. Don't ask me how, but don't accuse me of assuming something, either.
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 @Knud Rasmussen What's YOUR problem???
@felines99 @snuggles But nobody KNOWS if it was unlocked or if the kids horsing around unlocked it. And WHY was the child not sitting properly in the seat. Sounds like it was pretty wild if she was on the seat. Where were the adults chaparoning the party???
*police
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@felines99 @Oh My @snuggles "According to an Oregonian article on the subject, the exit door was never in a locked position. It was unlocked when the passengers boarded." Arent the pollice still investigating the situation and going over the bus? How or who is to say that it was never in the locked position?
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 @Oh My  @felines99  @snuggles According to an Oregonian article on the subject, the exit door was never in a locked position. It was unlocked when the passengers boarded.  That said, I am not arguing that the kids were behaving like little angels. But that's how kids act at a celebratory time. The ultimate responsibility for locking the door lies with the bus owner, who should have foreseen that things might get a little wild.
 @snugglesÂ
My thoughts exactly! It wouldn't have made a difference if he had the proper license.  And what's the deal with the owner claiming that he sold the company to his fiance'? I guarantee you he still runs the business, and that he simply solid it on paper and put it in her name for the minority owned business status...it's the business owner who should be in trouble over this...not the driver.
If the city and state could afford to hire more permit compliance inspectors, perhaps incidents like this wouldn't happen. But, unfortunately, bike lanes and other personal pet projects require more and more taxpayer funding. Most of these issues only come up when something unfortunate, like this young girl's death happen. Usually, the city, county and state, must be holding their breaths hoping that nothing will happen to hold them to account!
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 @HarryJuku I agree and also disagree with that.  They were negligent in hiring him without the proper credentials.  If they had hired him with the agreement that on the job training would follow with getting his CDL that's fine.  But for him to get behind the wheel knowing he doesn't have the proper license to do so is also negligent.  The FMCSA goes after CDL drivers as well as their companies when rules are not followed.  It's not one or the other.
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At the same time, there is some blame to be put on the girl or at the very least, the adults that were along inside the bus at the time of the accident.  Obviously there were seats in that party bus.  Why she was sitting up high enough to fall out of a window that opened up is a good question and I'm sure investigators will figure that out and use that in their case for whomever is found at fault.  Right now it's easy to point the finger at the driver and the company because there were obvious violations involving them.  But I'd like to know what was going on in the bus that put her in that position.
I imagine there are going to be a lot of little tidbits to this story as it goes along. So sad that a family trusts that they will be safe and taken care of by someone who is qualified and authorized to handle their 'safe' transportation.
"Five Star has made an initial contribution to a bank account..."
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Nice gesture, however, methinks it's an attempt at staving off a lawsuit.
 @str1ngb3nd3r And not a very good attempt at that.
@rozeguy @str1ngb3nd3r Or maybe the company feels horrible for what happened and is trying to help in whatever way they can.