Bus co. stripped of authority to drive in U.S. after fatal crash
PORTLAND, Ore. – A tour bus company can no longer operate in the United States after one of its buses last month was involved in a fatal crash in Eastern Oregon that killed nine people, the U.S. Department of Transportation said Tuesday.
The department said it revoked the ability of the Canadian bus company Mi Joo Tour & Travel's authority to provide bus passenger service after an investigation found the company failed to schedule drivers to make sure they got enough rest.
In a news release, department spokesman Duane DeBruyne said the Oregon crash investigation revealed the driver of the bus, Haeng Kyu Hwang, had been on duty well beyond the federal maximum limit of 70 hours of service over eight days.
Hwang lost control of his bus on snow and ice on Interstate 84 near Pendleton on Dec. 30, 2012 and went about 200 feet down an embankment. In addition to the nine killed, 39 people were injured.
The Department of Transportation also found the bus company did not have practices in place to monitor its drivers.
"The safety of all travelers on our highways and roads remains our highest priority," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a statement. "We will move quickly to shut down bus companies that do not operate safely."
According to the Department of Transportation, the bus company was cited in 2011 for failing to meet U.S. drug and alcohol testing requirements. It was fined but did not initially pay the fine and subsequently had its authority to operate in the United States suspended for about two months. It was allowed to provide service again after it paid its fine but was fined again in 2010 for drug and alcohol testing violations for its drivers.
Ninth victim identified
Earlier Tuesday, police released the name of the ninth victim killed in the crash.
He was Richard Michael Sohn, 19, of Bellevue, Wash.
Eight of the 38 injured people are still recovering at a hospital, according to Lt. Gregg Hastings with Oregon State Police.
The bus was returning to Vancouver, British Columbia, on the final leg of a nine-day tour of the western United States. The trip was organized by a British Columbia travel agency to carry tourists traveling in small groups. Most of the passengers were Korean.
Sunday, two surviving passengers filed a lawsuit against the company that owns the bus.
The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
OK... they will just start up under new name and new "ownership" and keep operating as before. I didn't realize the tourist bus industry was so fraught with danger and lawlessness!
OK. So far so good, even though it is nine lives too late. Could we now get the state to prohibit Tri-Met drivers from working 22 hours in 24? They can now work 17 hours in a "work day." Even 17 hours behind the wheel is too much, especially in traffic. But to be able to sandwich 22 hours driving around a 2 hour break at the end of the "work day" is just too damn much. Tri-Met and the Union should be ashamed of themselves for permitting this, and the drivers really ought to know better.
Too little, too late
They only had 19 serious violations to fail to comply with US law prior to this incident.
How many other tour bus companies will wake up after this? Transportation Department will fine or shut down companies for violations...when they are caught.
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A lot of companies may be doing the cheap route, and only doing what they have to.
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@Just Lookin This isn't going to wake up any tour companies. They make too much money to worry about regulations and a few lost lives. They can always find drivers needing to make money and willing to fudge the books. There are too many of these companies, about the time they are onto them, they disappear and re-emerge under a new name and continue what they were doing. There are reputable compaines, but they are outnumbered by the low lifes. Most of the buses that run between Vegas and Grand Canyon (sky walk and the south rim) have mechanical violations, safety violations, driver credential issues.....and this is the ones who are actually stopped for a violation. There are more that are not stopped. Apparently the risk is worth the money they make.
 @Just Lookin Trucking companies are cheating this way too, and fudge the reports according to someone I know who was driving for them. The drivers are pressured to do this or they lose their jobs. Someone needs to go undercover...
The almighty dollar rules the road actually.
I know of companies that had drivers keep two sets of records. They used to that is, they lost a lot of driver because of it.
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 @whirledworld  @Just Lookin Some companies will suspend or teerminate drivers who are found to be falsifying log books. Others allow it and some force you. Hubs has worked for companies that tell you to do it or lose your job so the drivers do it. Who can afford to be out of work anymore. Someone does need to go under cover but so many regulatory boards that I have talked to don't have the funding anymore to pursue very much.Â
Wow! Now that will stop them from operating.They've probably already changed their name and owners.
 @jpk that's precisely what I was thinking, captain!
They'll just sell the business to a family member and start up under a new name.
 @RalphCramden I have a feeling that after the 40 lawsuits for over a million each they won't have enough of a business left to sell and that's how it should be. Sounds like someone nees a little jail time on this one.
Maybe I missed it in an earlier article, but was the bus driver one of those killed?
 @MadMax64 The bus driver had a seat belt. The passengers did not. Many were thrown from the bus onto the snow.
 @special effects  @MadMax64Â
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Last I heard he was in critical condition
 @MadMax64 He survived.
@MadMax64, no he was not