Minor Charges Likely in Fatal Bus Crash

SHERMAN, Texas - The driver in last year's charter bus crash that killed 17 members of Houston's Vietnamese community likely won't be charged with anything more than misdemeanor traffic violations, according to law enforcement officials.

Police in Sherman in north Texas, the scene of the Aug. 8 accident, had been looking into charging the driver, Barrett Broussard, with negligent homicide. But they determined there is probably insufficient evidence to support the charge, officials said.

Broussard, 53, of Houston, was driving 55 passengers to an annual event for Vietnamese Catholics in Missouri when the bus blew a retreaded tire and skidded off a highway bridge. The retread was on the bus' right front axle in violation of federal regulations.

Broussard could have been charged with negligent homicide for failing to have the retread removed before the trip if the National Transportation Safety Board, which is still investigating, showed the tire failed because it was a retread.

"Our understanding is a final report from the NTSB will be made available in October, and informally we've heard that they will not be returning a finding that will support criminal charges," Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown said.

Neither Brown nor Brad Gibson, the officer supervising the police investigation, would disclose the details of what they've been told by the NTSB.

Bridget Serchak, a spokeswoman for the agency, said she cannot comment on an active investigation.

Broussard has pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges in Grayson County Justice of the Peace Court, both of which were filed shortly after the crash. One is operating a bus with a retread on the front axle. The other is operating a vehicle that lacked the authority for interstate travel.

Stephen Gordon, a Fort Worth criminal defense attorney who is representing Broussard, declined to comment on the status of the police investigation.

The blown tire was among a batch retreaded by Henise Tire Service in Cleona, Pa., and sold to Motor Coach Industries Inc. of Schaumburg, Ill., in 2007. Motor Coach Industries sold the bus involved in the crash to a Houston charter operator, Angel de la Torre, just weeks before the accident.

Rob Ammons, among the Houston attorneys representing the families of crash victims in lawsuits, said an expert he hired to examine the tire last month determined it likely deflated due to a puncture but there were problems with both the casing and the tread.

"It's like you've got a product that's wearing out to begin with," he said. "You retread it. Then you put a tread on it that allowed for a nail to penetrate."

David Taylor, a Dallas attorney representing Henise, said the company inspects and tests its casings and discards those that are defective. He said he couldn't comment on the tread issue until his own expert examines the tire.

In a deposition in February, de la Torre testified that the blown tire was the same one that was on the bus' right front axle when he bought it. He said he didn't know the tire was a retread.

In a statement to The Associated Press, Motor Coach Industries said it is confident evidence will show that the retread wasn't on the front axle when the bus was delivered to de la Torre.

De la Torre's company, Iguala BusMex, had yet to receive federal approval to operate outside Texas when the accident happened. It was related to another company, Angel Tours, that had been shut down for violating federal safety regulations.

The companies and de la Torre have been under investigation by the FBI since the accident.