Up to six die in charter bus crash in Arkansas

Several others sustained injuries, including the driver, and were taken to local hospitals.

Roberto Vasquez, 28, of Monroe, Michigan, was behind the wheel when the bus ran off the right side of the highway, struck a wall and then hit the bridge. Police said conditions included light rain and a wet road.

Troopers said they received reports about a single-vehicle crash around 1 a.m. They diverted traffic to city streets through North Little Rock but were able to open one of the four westbound lanes by 3 a.m. Traffic was snarled for hours but all debris and the bus were towed away before daybreak. The other two died within the vehicle, he said.

The bus left from Monroe, Michigan, and was en route to Laredo, Texas, Foster said. The survivors range in age from 19 to 43. The names of those killed are being withheld until all of the families have been notified, police said.

The driver was tested for intoxicants as prescribed by Arkansas law. Maj.

Arkansas State Police Col. Bill Bryant says authorities are still trying to determine why the driver of the bus drove into a concrete barrier and crashed into a bridge overpass, shearing the roof off the bus.

While the driver spoke English, numerous passengers did not.

Bryant says six people were injured but have been treated and released from hospitals. But their only role is to help translate for the Spanish-speaking survivors.

The American Red Cross tended to eight people on the bus who were uninjured, regional communications director Brigette Williams said.

Jeff Lawson, who identified himself as owner of Detroit-based Continental Charters, said his company sold the bus, a T2140 Van Hool 1997 model, on Saturday to the citrus and hauling company for $8,000. The other three people on the bus, including the driver, were from Florida, according to Arkansas State Police.

The bus was ferrying migrant farmworkers from Michigan to Texas when it ran off a highway and hit an overpass in Arkansas. At this time, the only witnesses officials know of are surviving passengers.

Lawson told ABC News affiliate WXZY television that he sold the bus to Juan Vazquez of Vasquez Citrus and Hauling in Florida.

Reuters called the company, and a woman hung up the phone.

According to the FMCSA website, Vasquez Citrus and Hauling operates both trucks and buses. Representatives from the service center could not be reached for comment Friday.

State Police said in a release that they’ll be working with the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Highway Motor Carriers, Arkansas Highway Transportation Department, Highway Police. The National Transportation Safety Board investigation is initially focusing on the possibility of driver fatigue, though investigators may focus on other issues once they’re on the scene, spokesman Eric Weiss said.

Weiss didn’t have a specific time line for how long the investigation would take. “Our hearts go out to them”.