After a yearlong investigation, the California Highway Patrol (CHP) announced Friday that it is still unclear why a FedEx truck slammed into a motorcoach bus carrying high school students in Northern California last year. The collision killed 10 people, including five students.
Investigators concluded that the 2014 accident was caused by the FedEx driver due to an “unsafe turning movement,” which happened for unknown reasons.
“Our investigators carefully analyzed every aspect of this collision and concluded that environmental factors, roadway conditions and vehicle maintenance were not the cause,” said CHP Northern Division Chief Ruben Leal. “The collision was caused—for unknown reasons—by the driver’s unsafe turning movement, and although fatigue or an undetermined medical condition may have contributed, there is no conclusive evidence.”
The CHP’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT) did find some evidence of possible fatigue or sleepiness, such as the long, straight section of the roadway and the departure angle of the tires, which is consistent with fatigue-related collisions. An eyewitness reported that the driver was slumped towards the truck window before the crash. However, these findings were not considered conclusive.
On April 10, 2014 at about 5:40 p.m., a FedEx truck traveling southbound in the right lane on Interstate 5 near Orland, California, veered left into the 58-foot-wide median, crashing through bushes and entering opposing traffic. The truck collided with the Silverado Stages motorcoach bus and a Nissan Altima. The impact caused the FedEx truck and motorcoach bus to burst into flames.
The bus passengers were 43 high school students and three adult chaperones headed to Humboldt State University for a weekend visit. The accident claimed the lives of the FedEx and bus drivers, five students and the three chaperones. The surviving students suffered injuries of varying degrees, while the driver and passenger of the Nissan Altima suffered minor injuries.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is still working on finalizing its own investigation into the crash. Earlier this month, the agency opened the accident docket, releasing approximately 2,150 pages of documents. The docket contains, among other things, questionnaires with the surviving passengers, the majority of whom indicated that there were no safety or emergency instructions prior to the trip.
“No one showed us how to open emergency widows like they do when we go on school buses,” wrote one student.
The majority of respondents also noted that while they were aware of the lap-shoulder seatbelts in the bus, they did not wear them.
The Los Angeles Times reported last week that that both FedEx and Silverado Stages are currently facing three lawsuits from families of the victims and crash survivors, with more expected to follow.
