Bus was equipped with illegal recapped tire, NTSB says

By BILL MILLER, GORDON DICKSON and ANDREW CHAVEZ

Star-Telegram Staff Writers

SHERMAN -- A motor coach that crashed early Friday in Sherman, killing at least 15 people, was equipped with an illegal recapped tire that blew out, investigators said.

Recapped tires are essentially old tires equipped with a new layer of rubber tread. They are legal, and commonly used on tractor-trailers, buses and other large vehicles. Federal rules allow recapped tires on passenger buses — but only on axles not involved in steering the vehicle.

However, the bus that crashed in Sherman had a recapped Goodyear tire on its right front axle, a violation of federal safety rules, National Transportation Safety Board member Debbie Hersman said.

"If there is a loss of air pressure, or delamination of the tire, it's much more difficult to control the vehicle," Hersman said during a news briefing at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport.

All nine other tires on the bus had their original tread, Hersman said. The left front tire was a Firestone.

NTSB officials say they're still investigating whether the blowout caused the crash. Survivors told police they thought the bus experienced a blown tire just before the driver lost control on U.S. 75 The bus struck a guardrail, and slid 180 feet before plunging 12 feet down an embankment and landing on its side.

The 52-year-old driver, whose name was not released, had a valid commercial driver license but an expired medical certificate, Hersman said.

Meanwhile, Sherman police said shortly before 7 p.m. that a 15th passenger involved the crash has died at Wilson N. Jones Hospital in Sherman.

Police obtained the information from hospital officials, who said the deceased was a woman, but did not release her name or age.

So far, investigators have identified seven of the 15 people killed in the crash.

They continue to investigate why the tire blew and sent the bus careening off U.S. 75 on the way to a religious gathering in Missouri.

Officials must also determine why the bus was on an interstate trip. Federal officials had ordered the owner not to travel out of state because of several driver-related safety violations, federal and state records show.

In addition, the charter owner, Angel Tours of Houston, was operating illegally in Texas, the records show.

The bus ran through a guard rail about 12:45 a.m. Friday and crashed onto its side in a creek bed below.

Twelve of the 54 passengers were dead at the scene. One passenger died later Friday at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, another at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas and the third at Wilson N. Jones in Sherman. The surviving victims were taken to a half-dozen hospitals around North Texas.

"I can tell you there were very few walking wounded," Sherman Fire Chief J.J. Jones said. The injuries were "primarily crushing wounds," he said, although a small fire reportedly broke out after the crash.

The driver survived and was talking with investigators at an undisclosed hospital.

"I have four boys, ages 10 and under, and when I saw this, I thought 'My God,'" said Sherman Mayor Bill Magers. "But when you hear about (the dead), it just hits you."

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