Blog Post

Last month's Sacramento bus accident that we covered in our California bus accident lawyers blog, killed at least 9 people, including the owner of the bus company that owned the vehicle, and severely injured many others, including the driver Quintin Watts.  Recordnet.com reports that the driver has been sentenced to 12 months in prison for a parole violation at the time of the bus accident.  Watts had been serving time for being an ex-felon and having a firearm in his possession in 2007.  The day of the bus accident that killed a group of mainly Laotian immigrants, who were on their way to Colusa County Casino Resort, was his first day on the job.  Watts apparently lost control of the bus, and it rolled over into a ditch in a rural area outside Sacramento.  

Investigations into the bus accident are still ongoing. It was initially believed that alcohol and drugs had played a part in the bus accident. Watts' previous criminal history and record of offenses were also chronicled, and reported in the media.  However, as investigators later admitted, alcohol and drugs did not seem to have played a role.  There have been no charges filed against Watts, because toxicology reports have confirmed that he was not drunk at the time of the accident.  Watts’ own mother however, insists that her son was a diabetic who slipped into a coma at the wheel.     

In handing down the sentence, the deputy parole commissioner was firm in his assertion that Watts had violated the terms of his parole by traveling, more than 50 miles from his house without obtaining permission from his parole officer.  He had also been facing another parole violation charge for not informing his parole officer of his new job. But there seems to have been a mess-up with his employment records, and so, those charges won't stick either.

More than a month and a half since the fatal accident, it seems that investigators are no closer to reaching any serious conclusion about the accident than they were on the day of the bus crash. So far, all we know is that the bus had not been licensed, and that the company had ignored all safety inspection regulations that were required by the state. The bus company – whose owner Daniel Cobb died in the accident – it is thought, conspired to manipulate records to make sure that the vehicle did not show up on official data.  This was obviously done to avoid the specter of liability in the event of a bus accident.

The Laotian families who lost many elderly embers of their clan in the accident are, no doubt, looking at this delay in the investigation with dismay.  They have been hoping to find answers to this tragedy since the day that their loved ones were lost forever, and all this seesawing in the bus accident probe does not help much.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of bus accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.