8 People Killed & 44 injured in Bus Roll Over Accident in Webb County, TX, Bus was going to Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino
By: Jose G. Landa, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2016
A private charter passenger bus rolled over on Saturday, May 14, 2016 at approximately 11 A.M. on U.S. Highway 83 North in Webb County, Texas near Laredo, killing eight (8) people and injuring 44 people.
The charter bus roll over accident occurred north of the U.S. Border Patrol Checkpoint on U.S. Highway 83 North in Webb County, approximately five miles of the Webb County and Dimmit County lines.
The Webb County Volunteer Fire Department, Laredo Fire Department, and private ambulances responded to the accident in light of the large number of people who were injured in the bus roll over accident. Some of the injured were transported to Laredo hospitals while others to the Dimmit County Memorial Hospital and later transferred to University Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.
According to preliminary reports, there are at least eight (8) fatalities as a result of this charter passenger bus roll over accident. The charter bus was leased or owned by OGA Charters of San Juan, Texas.
The bus driver of the charter bus at the time of the accident was Porfirio Aguirre Vasquez, age 29, of Pharr, Texas. The driver survived the accident but sustained injuries to his body.
The charter passenger bus was traveling from San Juan, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley to Eagle Pass, Texas to the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, owned by the Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas.
All public traffic traveling between Laredo and Carrizo Springs, Texas were asked to take alternative routes due to ongoing emergency and clean up efforts by law enforcement authorities.
Rau Leal of the Texas Department of Trasportation, Laredo District Office, reported that all southbound traffic on US Highway 83 is re-routed to Farm to Market Road 133 and then back onto US Highway 83 and northbound traffic is being re-routed to State Highway 44 and then back onto US Highway 83 North.
Motorists are warned that US Highway 83 will be closed up to eight (8) hours to allow law enforcement authorities investigate the accident and clean up the accident scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board from Washington, DC flew a team of investigators to Laredo to conduct a thorough investigation of the tragic accident. The lead investigator for the federal agency is Pete Kotowski.
US Highway 83 North was closed to the public on Tuesday, May 17, 2016 for almost eight hours as investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the scene of the accident.
OGA Charters had been previously cited by the State of Lousisiana for brake maintenance issues, ordering OGA to remove one bus from the public transportation industry. It is unknown if the bus cited was the one involved in this accident.
Family members of the deceased and injured persons have retained legal counsel to file lawsuits against OGA Charters and any other parties which may be liable for the accident. One lawsuit had already been filed as of press time.
The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas and its Tribal Council issued a press release expressing their deepest condolences to the victims and injured persons of the fatal accident. The Kickapoo Traditional Tribe of Texas are the legal owners of the Kickapoo Lucky Eagle Casino, the destination of the charter bus before it rolled over.
The fatal accident is under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and the Texas Department of Public Safety. The federal investigation is expected to take up to a year before completed.
