San Diego Accident Blog

Investigators have discovered that driver fatigue may have played a role in a fatal bus accident last April involving French tourists traveling through California.  An initial investigation showed that the driver, John Egnew, made an unsafe turn that caused the bus to hit a rail and turn over in Soledad, a town located 100 miles south of San Francisco.

Our car accident lawyers urge everyone that plans to drive long distances — either for pleasure or business — make sure you are rested before your trip.  Drowsy driving leads to hundreds of preventable car accidents every year, which in turn causing serious personal injury and wrongful death.

Driver fatigue found to be a cause of a bus accident that caused five deaths.

According to investigators, drowsy driving played a role in this bus crash that injured the driver and four French tourists. (SOURCE: AP)

A representative for the California Highway Patrol (CHP) said that further investigation, including passenger interviews, revealed Egnew was fatigued and may have led him to make the unsafe turn that caused the bus accident and killed four French tourists as well as the driver himself.

Egnew’s drunk-driving test was negative in a preliminary report, and investigators did not find any mechanical problems or design defects in the year-old bus.  Bad weather and road conditions were also ruled out as causes in the fatal crash.

Wrongful death lawsuits have been filed against the Orion Pacific Bus Company by the French tourists who claim they were injured or killed “as a result of negligent handling of the bus by the Orion Pacific bus driver who is the sole cause of the accident.”

If there are causes of car accidents that you can prevent on your own, our California car accident attorneys advise you to take those steps.  By getting enough sleep and having a designated driver, you can prevent auto accidents and save a life every time you’re behind the wheel.

Please contact us for a FREE consultation with an experienced car accident lawyer in San Diego — we speak both English and Spanish — at (800) 655-6585.  Click here and you may also submit your case for a Free Review.  No fee if no recovery.