Owner of wrecked bus has troubled inspection history

By: Mark Bowes | Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: May 31, 2011

The owner of a bus on which four people were killed on Interstate 95 early today has a troubled safety inspection history, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s website.

Driver fatigue was cited by the Virginia State Police as the cause of the crash of the bus operated by Sky Express Inc. of Charlotte N.C. The bus ran off the side of Interstate 95 in southern Caroline County, hit an embankment and flipped onto its roof.

Sky Express performed worse than 97 percent of all passenger bus companies within the last 12 months and 99.7 percent worse in the last 24 months in the “Driver Fitness” category, FMCSA records show. That category includes drivers who are unfit to operate a commercial motor vehicle due to lack of training, experience or medical qualifications.

Additionally, the company scored worse than 77.80 percent of all bus companies within the last 12 months and 86.2 percent worse in the last 24 months in the “fatigued driver” category, records shows. This category includes drivers who are ill, fatigued or in non-compliance with the hours of service regulations.

Sky Express also ranked worse than 56 percent of bus companies within the last 12 months and 62.9 percent in the last 24 months in the “unsafe driving” category, which includes operation of vehicles in the dangerous or careless manner, the government said.

Messages left for Sky Express were not immediately returned.

The carrier’s registration information as of May 20, 2011, says the company has 34 vehicles and 53 drivers, and traveled 3,600,000 miles in 2009.

Sky Express buses have been involved in four crashes, one with injuries, between July 2010 and January of this year, excluding today's wreck, according to Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records for the company over the last 24-months.

The accident with two injuries occurred Oct. 10 of last year on Interstate 95 in Stafford County, and involved a bus carrying 15 people including the driver, government records show. The bus driver was issued a citation but no other details were immediately available.

(This has been a breaking news update. Check back for more details as they become avaiable. Read more in tomorrow's Richmond Times-Dispatch.)