An investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board into a deadly truck and bus crash that killed 13 people and injured 31 more has concluded. While the report places blame on the bus driver, truck driver, and the state of California for the tragic accident, according to NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt, people died “because of destructive sleep apnea.”
It was at little after 5:00am on Sunday, October 23rd, 2016. A short traffic break was in effect across I-10 near mile marker 32 outside of Palm Springs. California Highway Patrol was there enforcing the traffic break for the short 7-minute maintenance. Once the maintenance was done, the CHP officer moved on and the traffic started moving again. But there was one large tractor-trailer that had stopped for the maintenance that didn’t move. According to the NTSB, the truck driver had fallen asleep at the wheel.
After about two minutes a passenger bus on its way to Los Angeles from one of the area casinos came up behind the truck, and, without braking, slammed in to it. The bus “intruded” about 13 feet into the trailer. The crash killed 13 people including the bus driver, and injured 31 more.
According to NTSB’s findings, both the bus driver and the trucker were at fault, as was the state of California for not having an adequate transportation management plan in place – which allowed the CHP officer to not notice that the truck didn’t move after the traffic break ended.
NTSB’s investigation found that because the trucker was “severely obese,” he likely had Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA). He had not been diagnosed with OSA, nor had his medical examiner even asked for him to be tested. NTSB still found that “he was most likely asleep at the time of the crash, due to fatigue that, given his extremely high level of obesity, probably resulted from undiagnosed and untreated moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea.”
The trucker has been charged with 13 counts of vehicular manslaughter. According to prosecutors, he had multiple hours of service violations and possibly had not slept in 24 hours leading up to the crash.
During the time between when traffic re-started and the accident occurred, multiple other drivers had seen and avoided the truck. In fact, an alert driver likely would likely have been able to see the truck for about 20 seconds before the impact. But NTSB found that the bus driver had slept for an estimated four hours or less in the previous day and a half. He too was likely asleep during the crash given the speed with which the bus hit the stopped truck.
NTSB found that the bus driver likely had undiagnosed diabetes based off of a “significantly elevated average blood sugar,” but the report does not give any mention of the bus driver having or being suspected of having OSA.
“We’re tired, yes we are tired, of seeing commercial drivers being tired,” said Sumwalt. “Here’s a case where people just riding on a bus, just paying money to go to casino and back, they died because of destructive sleep apnea on two drivers in two separate vehicles.”
As part of their report, NTSB issued a number of recommendations, including calling for the use of forward collision avoidance systems like autonomous emergency braking.
“In this crash, not one but two commercial vehicle drivers – people who drive for a living – were unable to respond appropriately to cues that other motorists acted on,’’ noted NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt, in a statement. “Federal and state regulators, commercial motor carriers and professional drivers can do better. Given the stakes, they must do better.’’
Source: NTSB, Overdrive, thehill, desertsun, usnews, fleetowner, thetrucker
I call BS. You can’t blame Sleep apnea then say he hadn’t slept in 24 hours. You cant have sleep apnea unless you sleep. DUH. They’re just dying to shove those machines down everyone’s throat.
AGREED, that and Many bus drivers don’t even use LOG BOOKS!!
sad, most likely driving like that because they get paid dirt for wages.
#Orale! It’s peanuts, we get paid peanuts, because we look like elephants to the industry!
Pfft. Have you seen the price of peanuts? I couldn’t afford them on drivers wages.
This is very sad and I agree they must do better. I remember training with a driver who was an excellent trainer and had a zero accident record but was morbidly obese and was taking Oxycontin for pain. It scared the hell out of me that he was taking it but I got through the training and learned a lot from him. This was years ago and I wonder if he was able to make the cut considering the new regs.
BTW, not to be nit-picking but the title of your article needs to be changed to “Obstructive”, not “Destructive” Sleep Apnea.
Uh Jonny…the reason that “destructive sleep apnea” is in quotes in the headline is because that is a direct quote from the head of the NTSB. The moron who heads the primary accident investigative agency doesn’t even know the proper terminology for the condition he is blaming for these accidents. It’s just another example of a desk jockey who doesn’t have a clue.
I don’t think sleep apnea needs to be in the story at all. Two driver’s who chose to drive with little to no sleep is more accurate.
I understand the article is point case about a pair of truck drivers in the highway patrol. But with all due respect how many drivers out there are in there little cars and pickup trucks driving cross-country using meds to stay awake and driving thousand plus miles in one stent. My brother from Arizona bragged about from driving from Houston to Phoenix and one shot. A friend of mine told me that with her medication she can drive from Spokane Washington to Denver Colorado. There are thousands of drivers out there daily that are as dangerous or more dangerous than obese professional truck drivers. I am just exhausted with seeing articles about CDL related topics blown out of proportion and laws and regulations cracking down making it harder for truckers to earn a living. Why don’t the states stop handing out driving licenses without adequate testing in yearly recertifications. The only things that we ever hear about them are concerned for emissions a statistical numbers showing accident and death rates. When will the government be fair to Truckers?
Multiple HOS violations, and possibly hadn’t slept for 24 hours? Yep, must be the sleep apnea that he was never diagnosed with. Because we couldn’t force more people into sleep studies and overpriced gas masks that they don’t need if we just recognize that this guy broke the law and just drove tired and never even tried to sleep.
Again another government study with conjecture and guessing to stick in what ever story they want to say to make there conclusion the only so called right one. I wonder if they’re issued crystal balls? Bottom line, there guessing as to the cause of the accident.
I don’t understand?? the drver was OVER HIS HOURS HAD all kind or write up,s BUT IT WAS SLEEP APNEA?? sounds more like I have money in the SLEEP APNEA GAME$$$$$$$$
I drove OTR for a yr. Gained 25 pounds and became pre-diabetic. With contingencies that include, but aren’t limited to, highly inappropriate wages; companies who don’t respect the most important rule of truck driving (don’t mess with the driver’s pay or his/her home time); the very sedentary nature of the job; many states having slower speed limits for trucks, especially at night; weight stations; distances between load pick-up and drop-off not getting any shorter; short home times that do not afford preventative doctor care; and especially truck stops full of junk food, WTF else can a reasonable person expect, an Adonis behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler?
I’m not sure how any of this points to Sleep Apnea. Both driver’s had not slept adequately. A skinny driver in the same instance could have fallen asleep. This is bureaucratic propaganda. I’d check Sumwalt’s investments. I bet he is heavily tied to sleep apnea clinics.
how the heck is this the fault of sleep apnea? If that 1.5hr of sleep was of higher quality, he would have not been tired? What kind of stupid statement is that????
Agree
Exactly!
First, sleep apnea in itself is not “destructive”. It’s misleading to word it that way.
Second, not all fat people have it. Skinny people can have it just as bad as bigger folks. Granted, it’s more likely, but it’s not weight exclusive. To assume he had it just because of his size is prejudicial.
Third, sleep apnea doesn’t doesn’t make you fall asleep. If anything, it wakes you up. Obviously affecting your quality of sleep, but during the day, with a little caffeine most people function just fine.
My point is, just because you’re big doesn’t automatically mean you have apnea.
Ve must send you to ze camp zo you can be “re-educated” und agree mit ze line ze gufernment chooses to feed you!
There you go again wonderful, great, omnipotent government. Always knowing what’s right and what’s wrong. The trucker was fat so therefore….obviously had sleep disorder. This truckers life is in shambles now, there are 13 people dead but government ALWAYS has the answers. MORE REGULATIONS!!!
The purpose of every organism on the planet is to reproduce and grow. The Virus erroneously called government is no different.
Nice!!!
This is all conjecture. They don’t know for sure. Seems like the garbage answer to everything today is sleep apnea. Maybe, just maybe, the lack of sleep was the issue because the driver chose not to sleep enough, not sleep apnea. But hey, he was fat, so it had to be, lol.
The sleep apnea industry must have pretty good lobbyists.
this is stupid. How can the driver of the truck be charged . I understand he shut his eyes for longer then he needed but didn’t the bus driver see that the truck was stopped . He may have fallen asleep also . I feel sorry for those people that were killed but I say that both drivers should be charged if any charges that were filed are charged .
How do you charge a dead man?
Easy, you make the claim that the bus driver was at fault………done.
The charged the truck driver with (for) ‘surviving an accident in which someone died’. That’s vehicular manslaughter, if you’re a truck driver. According to the article, the NTSB was at fault, too, but you can bet that no one there will be charged with anything. They might charge someone’s doctor with something, for failing to diagnose anyone with “destructive sleep apnea”, but only to scare other doctors into making that same diagnosis, as a self-preservation tactic. Has anyone ever gotten in trouble for diagnosing sleep apnea where there wasn’t any?
Well, let’s all get it out of our systems, because complaining is all that we can do. It’s not like we have any recourse, or influence, or anything. We just squeal like pigs, while they keep sticking it in… :-/
Lousy wages leading to long hours more than sleep apnea is the problem. And I would love to see one of these ntsb people get some sleep next to a reefer or other big truck engine
word pal
Can’t charge the bus driver since he was dead. Maybe the trucker was an undiagnosed narcoleptic? On another note, the NTSB chairman recently bought stock in a CPAP machine company.
they relax the rules on the dot examination, they got people driving trucks that can barely walk 15 feet without being out of breath, more and more drivers are being found dead in their truck because they’re so disgustingly huge and they want to talk about sleep apnea? Wow
So they are blaming the crash, in part, due to an assumption that the drivers had sleep apnea? So the NTSB is making decisions about fault in crashes by assuming facts.
Anyone count how many times the word “probably “ was used? Isn’t that the same as guessing?? Hmm.
The point I think everyone, including the investigator, is missing is regardless if the truck was stopped in the Highway because the driver was sleeping at the wheel, orthere was a wreck or what if the Trooper had not cut the traffic loose? It sounds like the bus driver wasn’t stopping no matter what was there!!!
What they will not admit is that some drivers are not early birds or night owls.
People please I beg you to go to YouTube and watch 1984 the movie and in that movie you will see the government engineer and control everything the people do from sleeping to eating and more!!!
What we have is a hybrid of that and a push for the mark of the beast.
It’s absolutely disgusting what our government is doing and not one pastor has spoken out against this, Why? Because the government controls them through tax breaks!
Nothing but lies, you can get a good days sleep and anyone that has driven all night will tell you, the worst time to drive is between 3am and 5am, why, because we are programed to sleep at night.
If this alleged “sleep apnea” is so dangerous, why aren’t four wheelers required to be tested for it? What keeps them from falling asleep at the wheel? The fact they aren’t required to be tested proves this is not about safety. It’s about the money.
The NTSB has spoken shamefully, just like the new head of the FMCSA.
Two drivers, running their tails off , to make a living.
All the “Likely”
quotes from prosecutors and the NTSB.
The media loves this stuff.
And never a peep of conscience from Congress, who has the power to
fix the Federal Labor Standards Act of the 1930’s.
We run on the fact that we, AS DRIVERS, are in an unprotected labor class.
Shippers and receivers/brokers,etc. know this and have abused the law, with a lack of scruples, ethics, morals, and intergrity!
We are the indentured servants of America. You know, SLAVERY??!
According to the NTSB,NHTSA,FMCSA, MADD-PATT-PUBLIC CITIZEN,
all of us drivers need to have the government tell us how to breathe.
These groups spend a lot of time , money and energy to control people who bring them their everything. The Medical vendors and their CPAPS can go to HELL!
So, God Bless the ones lost and their families.
So Truckers Report, you are in league with the above said narcissistic
criminals.
I ain’t refering to Truck Drivers.
Why is my post being moderated. Are you bought and
sold by the powers that be. Afraid of the Free Speech amendment
and the keys words in my statement.
If so, you are part of the problem!
The key words in this article is like many pointed out . Drivers CHOOSING not to sleep and CHOOSING to blatantly violate HOS . The whole article failed to show even the slightest bit of evidence that would back SLEEP APNEA but showed clear and deliberate LACK OF CONCERN for human life of anyone one the road or , as the case of the bus driver, lives in ones care .