This is why ELD's are going into effect.

The bus driver died in the crash. Speed was 76. Truck driver has all sorts of log violations and falsifications and should never have been there in the first place.

 

The bus driver was killed in the accident.
No Evidence of Bus Braking Before Desert Hot Springs Crash That Killed 13: CHP

 

So he cannot be charged.

 

I agree but the bus driver got killed in the accident so he can't be questioned so of course officials are going to go after the trk driver and not stop till they find something and they found 41 violations.As they see it the trk driver was sleeping while waiting for traffic to go in a construction. zone so that's the prosecutors argument.I see it as the bus drivers fault for driving too fast but like I said he is no longer here.

 

From what I read I would have found both at fault.

 

The Bus driver paid with his life. End of problem.

But wait. That sleepy head blocking the highway at zero mph and brakes set in a traffic lane? At the very least failure to maintain speed.

The Law is correct in stacking charges on the trucker. Even if everything was perfect he would still have been cited. And because the accident had death and injury involving him, it becomes a real problem. It's straight forward to me.

I could get a little snarky and think that one day truckers will be told staying away during the prescribed rest period is illegal....

 

I've seen that happen a few times before, you shouldn't lay down in the sleeper on the interstate

 

Even if he had been parked on the side of the road and hit, he would still carry a ton of fault if his equipment was not broke down.

 

There was one incident on I made it about half way up miles prior to snow shoe roughly hoping to make a certain safe haven before I failed to stay awake, I had been in rocking chair following that red trailer light in front in my dreams with a semi 2 foot from my drivers window herding me in my lane due to weaving so much. Everyone pretty much told me that my shifting had gone to pot and I needed to get out of the way now. (For me when shifting goes to pot and you don't know upgrade from down or care... that is time to stop before you kill someone...)

I put her on the shoulder, stopped and went to sleep head on the steering wheel.

14 hours later I woke up and foot was killing me on that grade. As it turned out I had the service brake on, and nothing else set.

That was one of the last few times I ever slept on the interstate itself. Ive picked way better places to sleep, and usually write a mr driver note to myself saying where, what how and when (Time of day etc) so that when I finished that kind of sleep I would not be lost.

At around the same time period, people were getting killed on the interstate ramming into the back of parked semis on the shoulder. About one or two dozen a week. Several states had instituted police action to clear and keep clear of trucker trying to sleep in certain spots. Eventually everyone moved along. This would be about the 1990 time period.

 

So NOBODY thought when traffic started rolling to knock on his door and say "Hey, bud...time to roll!"? If traffic was stopped for a while, I can't blame him for trying to catch a little shut-eye. You'd think when traffic started rolling and he didn't, it would've got SOMEBODY'S attention LONG before traffic was back up to speed.