By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Juab County Attorney David Leavitt requested more
interviews be made by the Utah Highway Patrol before he
determines whether criminal charges in a bus crash on the
Nebo Loop Road in October should be filed.
Six elderly women lost their lives as a result of the
accident.
"The list of potential defendants in a case such as
this far exceeds just simply the guy driving the bus, and
that's primarily why I asked the officer to expand his scope
a little more with regard to who is being interviewed,"
Leavitt said.
He said, depending on the findings of the
investigation, there are a variety of charges that could be
filed.
Leavitt requested the additional interviews after
discussing the case with a Utah Highway Patrol
investigator.
"You've got anything from a minor traffic violation,
to safety violations on buses, to defective equipment
violations, to something actually involving the death of the
individuals," Leavitt said.
The six of 26 passengers were killed when the bus
crashed while taking a group of elderly people on a fall
foliage-viewing trip on Oct. 2 along the Mount Nebo Loop
Road.
The crash actually occurred in Juab County.
Leavitt said a decision on charges could range from a
class C misdemeanor traffic violation to second- or
third-degree felony criminal homicide, Leavitt said.
"At this point it's just as much a likelihood that
there will be criminal charges as a likelihood that there
won't be," Leavitt said.
Inspectors from the Utah Department of Transportation
and Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration concluded a
thorough inspection of the company and discovered 21
deficiencies, resulting in an unsatisfactory rating for the
company.
Donna's Tours Company attorney George Naegle said the
items "which unrelated to the accident, which are easily
fixed," should not, in his opinion, be cause for
charges.
"I can't see where an investigation of that bus would
produce anything that would be criminal in nature," Naegle
said.
Donna's Tours has 45 days to appeal the findings or
fix the problems. The company plans to dispute some of those
findings. The accident was the first in the family-run
company's 37-year history.
Senior Friends program based out of Ogden Regional
Medical Center on an annual foliage-viewing trip. The group
had used Donna's Tours 25 to 30 times in the past and was
familiar with the driver.
The driver told police the brakes failed as he started
the downhill section of the Nebo Loop. When the brakes
failed, the bus tipped on its side, hit a line of trees and
slid to a stop on the steep mountain roadside.
"We've completed our report and it has been turned
over to the Juab County attorney for his review," UDOT
spokesman Tom Hudachko said. "It's still considered to be an
open investigation, and we can't comment."
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