LOS ANGELES —
Federal regulators on Friday ordered a tour bus operator involved in a Southern California crash that killed eight people to immediately stop operating because its buses weren’t properly maintained or inspected and its drivers weren’t properly vetted for qualifications.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said in a statement that it ordered all three buses operated by National City, Calif.-based Scapadas Magicas LLC in the U.S. to stop operating because they pose an imminent hazard to public safety.
The roadworthiness of the 1996 bus involved in the Feb. 3 crash has been in doubt after the driver said the brakes failed before it smashed into a sedan, flipped, slammed into a pickup and crashed on a road in the San Bernardino Mountains east of Los Angeles. The bus was carrying 38 people, including the driver and a tour guide, to Tijuana, Mexico.
Regulators said Friday that a post-crash investigation of the company’s two other buses that had been operating in the U.S. found serious mechanical safety violations.
Inspectors said the company failed to have its vehicles regularly inspected before the deadly crash. When the buses were inspected, there were many violations, including multiple brake problems.
Vehicle maintenance violations were cited during 21 of Scapadas Magicas’ 25 most recent vehicle inspections, and vehicles had to be placed out of service after 36 percent of the inspections, according to the order to cease operations.
In a January 2013 compliance review conducted by transportation regulators, breakdowns were identified in the company’s safety management systems, but “Scapadas Magicas failed to take necessary action to remedy its safety management deficiencies,” the order said.
Calls to Scapadas Magicas’ offices seeking comment Friday night were unsuccessful.
Top News
U.S. orders shutdown of bus company in Calif. crash
-
-
Series of attacks kill 51 people across Iraq
A blistering string of apparently coordinated bombings and a shooting across Iraq killed at least 51 and wounded dozens Sunday, spreading fear throughout the county in a wave of violence that is raising the prospect of a return to widespread sectarian killing a decade after a U.S.-led invasion.
-
Turkey unrest goes on despite end to park protest
Riot police cordoned off streets, set up roadblocks and fired tear gas and water cannon to prevent anti-government protesters from converging on Istanbul’s central Taksim Square on Sunday, unbowed even as Turkey’s prime minister addressed hundreds of thousands of supporters a few kilometers away.
-
Iraq no-fly zone viewed as symbol for one in Syria
The Obama administration, trying to avoid getting drawn deeper into Syria’s civil war, has pointed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 as a symbol of what can go wrong when America’s military wades into Middle East conflicts.
-
Steady rain falls as crews work against Colo. fire
With evacuees anxious to return, firefighters worked Sunday to dig up and extinguish hot spots to protect homes spared by the most destructive wildfire in Colorado’s history.
-
Valdosta Dollar General robbed at gunpoint
Valdosta Dollar General robbed at gunpoint
-
GOP charges into Ga. elections
With three U.S. House seats in Georgia wide open in 2014, the chance to go to Washington is already attracting a crowd of several state legislators, a minister, a surgeon, a political novice and an ex-congressman seeking a comeback. So far, not one is a Democrat.
-
Today in History for Monday, June 17, 2013
Today is Monday, June 17, the 168th day of 2013. There are 197 days left in the year.
-
Iran reformists dance in streets for new president
Wild celebrations broke out on Tehran streets that were battlefields four years ago as reformist-backed Hasan Rowhani capped a stunning surge to claim Iran’s presidency on Saturday, throwing open the political order after relentless crackdowns by hard-liners to consolidate and safeguard their grip on power.
-
Riot police end Istanbul park protest
Turkish riot police firing tear gas and water cannon took less than half an hour on Saturday to bring to an end an 18-day occupation of an Istanbul park at the center of the strongest challenge to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 10-year tenure.
-
Shock lingers after Nazi unit leader found in U.S.
The revelation that a former commander of a Nazi SS-led military unit has lived quietly in Minneapolis for the past six decades came as a shock to those who know 94-year-old Michael Karkoc. World War II survivors in both the U.S. and Europe harshly condemned the news and prosecutors in Poland have said they’ll investigate.
- More Top News Headlines
-
