On January 2, 2001, about 1:30 a.m., the West Valley Charter Lines (West Valley) busdriver arrived at the bus yard in Campbell, California, and conducted a safety inspection of the bus. The weather was clear and dry. The driver departed the bus yard about 2:00 a.m. and traveled approximately 22 miles to the California School for the Deaf, Fremont (CSDF) in Fremont, California, to pick up an adult student aide. They departed CSDF about 2:45 a.m. and drove to San Luis Obispo, approximately 200 miles south of CSDF, taking a half-hour break in King City. The bus picked up one student in San Luis Obispo, departing about 7:15 a.m., and two more students in Atascadero, 17 miles north of San Luis Obispo, departing there about 7:45 a.m. The bus then traveled approximately 10 miles to Paso Robles, where one student boarded the bus. The driver said that, about 8:00 a.m., they left Paso Robles, where he reentered U.S. 101 northbound and set the cruise control at 70 mph (the posted speed limit was 65 mph). The driver stated that he had a limited recollection of events beyond that time. The accident occurred about 8:05 a.m.
Physical evidence from the scene indicated that the bus departed the right side of the road, crossed the asphalt shoulder, and struck the terminal end of a W-beam breakaway cable guardrail. Tire marks on the shoulder leading to the guardrail indicated a departure angle of approximately 4 degrees. The bus then clipped the end of the concrete bridge rail and plunged about 23 feet to the roadway below. The bus began to roll, and the right front of the bus struck the roadway below. The bus continued to roll and turn toward the right after impacting the ground and came to rest on its left side, having rolled 270 degrees and yawed (rotated laterally) 180 degrees.
Two passengers were ejected and came to rest underneath the bus, sustaining fatal injuries. Three passengers remained inside the bus; two sustained serious injuries and one sustained minor injuries. The driver, who was wearing a lap/shoulder belt, sustained minor
injuries. Only the driver seat and right-front passenger seat were equipped with lap/shoulder belts.
We determined that the probable cause of the accident was driver fatigue. Contributing to the accident was the transportation schedule established by the California School for the Deaf, Fremont, and a lack of knowledge by the driver of the effect of inverted sleep/rest cycles. Contributing to the severity of the injuries sustained in this accident was the use of a nonconforming bus for student transportation.
