Eric
24 Believed Killed In Evacuee Bus Fire, Explosion
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TexasStooge
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Yep, I was right, it's gonna be like one of those "Wilmer-Hutchins ISD" kind of incidents.
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Bus firm facing 2 inquiries
Exclusive: Focus is why company got passing grade before deadly fire
By STEVE McGONIGLE, MICHAEL GRABELL and HOLLY BECKA / The Dallas Morning News
The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating why its regulators gave a satisfactory rating to a tour company involved in last month's fatal bus fire near Dallas for almost two years before concluding it was an imminent hazard to the public.
The office of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta also requested that the agency's independent watchdog conduct an investigation, The Dallas Morning News has learned.
The reviews will examine how Global Limo Inc. of Pharr, operator of the bus in which 23 elderly hurricane evacuees died, kept the satisfactory rating for 20 months before being depicted as a rogue operator and forced to cease operations Oct. 7, said Transportation Department spokesman Brian Turmail.
A much-criticized safety rating system that federal regulators use to identify problem carriers is likely to be a focus of both inquiries. Although Global had one of the lowest driver safety scores of any bus carrier, no review had been triggered.
"We really have a lot of questions [about the ratings], and we really want to get to the bottom of that as quickly as possible," Mr. Turmail said.
A review team established by Annette Sandberg, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, began work last week, Mr. Turmail said. This week, he said, Mr. Mineta's office asked Inspector General Kenneth Mead to conduct his own inquiry.
David Barnes, a spokesman for Mr. Mead, confirmed the request from Mr. Mineta's office but declined to discuss what matters would be examined.
He said an inspector general investigation could result in civil or criminal penalties. "I can't stress enough, just because we've initiated an investigation doesn't necessarily mean it's going to result in a finding of wrongdoing," Mr. Barnes said.
The motor carrier administration, an arm of the Transportation Department, regulates the safety of interstate bus companies. It was the most recent regulatory agency to review Global's overall compliance with safety regulations.
Mr. Turmail characterized both the internal review and the request to Mr. Mead as routine reflections of Mr. Mineta's commitment to improving transit safety.
Jerry Donaldson, a longtime observer of the motor carrier agency, called the internal review "unprecedented." He said he was skeptical it would produce meaningful change in what critics have labeled as one of government's worst-run agencies.
But he said the request to Mr. Mead, a vocal critic, sends the signal that the Transportation Department considers the situation to be serious.
"He's been after this agency hammer and tong," said Mr. Donaldson, senior researcher for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "If the OIG does an investigation, you are going to be sure you are going to get a really candid appraisal."
The dual reviews are being launched within days of the motor carrier administration taking the rare step of ordering Global to cease operations. The order followed a two-week compliance review that found 168 violations of federal safety regulations, more than half related to maintenance and vehicle conditions.
Ms. Sandberg approved the shutdown order, Mr. Turmail said.
Investigators examining the fatal Sept. 23 fire on Global's bus have cited inadequate maintenance of the rear brakes and wheel bearings as the likely reason a rear tire caught fire, setting off explosions that incinerated the vehicle.
Global's attorney, Mark Cooper, did not return a phone call on Friday. James Maples, the bus company's owner, could not be reached.
Lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of the accident have accused Global of operating negligently.
Houston attorney Robert Luke, who is representing two survivors of the bus fire as well as families of three people who died in it, said he was pleased to hear that motor carrier officials were conducting an internal investigation.
"I'm glad they're at least grading their own papers. There are going to be a lot of people outside of the government rating their papers as well, and the lawyers on the case are going to be some of those people."
Company problems
Global and its predecessor, Global Tours and Charters, have a history of financial troubles and allegations of shoddy maintenance and records keeping. Mr. Maples filed for bankruptcy protection from his creditors in February 2005. Since 2001, he and other drivers have been stopped more than a dozen times by state and federal inspectors.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the state agency that also regulates bus companies, conducted an "educational contact" with the company in April 2002 after receiving complaints from customers about its operations.
The inspection found several violations of safety regulations and "strongly advised" Mr. Maples to implement improvements. But it did not result in any further enforcement action or any follow-up reviews by state authorities.
The DPS review was conducted by Juan Jauregui, a civilian investigator who subsequently went to work for the federal motor carrier agency. Since 2003, Mr. Jauregui has been a private safety consultant. Global is one of his clients.
"He's always had a positive attitude towards safety," Mr. Jauregui said of Global's owner. "I know the reports say otherwise."
Mr. Turmail said the internal review would also look at Mr. Jauregui's role in the motor carrier agency's 2004 compliance review. Mr. Jauregui was interviewed as part of that review, which found several violations of records keeping regulations that were similar to those he had discovered in his 2002 inspection.
In an interview this week, Mr. Jauregui said that his participation in the 2004 compliance review had no effect on the investigator, a former colleague.
The 2004 compliance review was prompted by four negative roadside inspections the year before, particularly involving incidents when drivers exceeded maximum working hours or didn't have a logbook, Mr. Turmail said.
As a result of the review, the Texas office of the motor carrier agency was supposed to monitor the company through SafeStat, a statistical rating system drawn from reports of contacts by state and federal safety regulators.
Critics, which include Mr. Mead, the inspector general, have alleged that SafeStat is ineffective because the records that it relies on are incomplete and do not give an accurate assessment of small carriers, which represent the bulk of bus companies.
SafeStat, which stands for Safety Status Measurement System, rates companies in four categories: drivers, vehicles, accidents and overall safety management. Global was initially given a rating of 74 for driver safety, which is one point below a threshold that warns of serious problems. In March 2005, the driver safety rating jumped to 97.
Mr. Turmail attributed the higher score to a single incident involving a Global bus driver. Because the rating is calculated in part on the size of the company, he said, such a sharp increase would not be seen as abnormal. He also noted that it generally requires SafeStat scores above 75 in two or more categories to trigger a compliance review.
June, August incidents
Nor was it unusual, he said, that the company's safety rating was not affected by two additional incidents in June and August in which Global drivers were taken off the road for records keeping and licensing issues.
No compliance review of Global was planned, he said, before the Wilmer fire, which occurred as the patients were being evacuated from a nursing home in Houston in advance of Hurricane Rita.
The bus fire triggered the second compliance review, Mr. Turmail said.
"This is a horrific incident," he said, "and we wanted to make sure no stone was left unturned."
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Bus firm facing 2 inquiries
Exclusive: Focus is why company got passing grade before deadly fire
By STEVE McGONIGLE, MICHAEL GRABELL and HOLLY BECKA / The Dallas Morning News
The U.S. Department of Transportation is investigating why its regulators gave a satisfactory rating to a tour company involved in last month's fatal bus fire near Dallas for almost two years before concluding it was an imminent hazard to the public.
The office of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta also requested that the agency's independent watchdog conduct an investigation, The Dallas Morning News has learned.
The reviews will examine how Global Limo Inc. of Pharr, operator of the bus in which 23 elderly hurricane evacuees died, kept the satisfactory rating for 20 months before being depicted as a rogue operator and forced to cease operations Oct. 7, said Transportation Department spokesman Brian Turmail.
A much-criticized safety rating system that federal regulators use to identify problem carriers is likely to be a focus of both inquiries. Although Global had one of the lowest driver safety scores of any bus carrier, no review had been triggered.
"We really have a lot of questions [about the ratings], and we really want to get to the bottom of that as quickly as possible," Mr. Turmail said.
A review team established by Annette Sandberg, administrator of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, began work last week, Mr. Turmail said. This week, he said, Mr. Mineta's office asked Inspector General Kenneth Mead to conduct his own inquiry.
David Barnes, a spokesman for Mr. Mead, confirmed the request from Mr. Mineta's office but declined to discuss what matters would be examined.
He said an inspector general investigation could result in civil or criminal penalties. "I can't stress enough, just because we've initiated an investigation doesn't necessarily mean it's going to result in a finding of wrongdoing," Mr. Barnes said.
The motor carrier administration, an arm of the Transportation Department, regulates the safety of interstate bus companies. It was the most recent regulatory agency to review Global's overall compliance with safety regulations.
Mr. Turmail characterized both the internal review and the request to Mr. Mead as routine reflections of Mr. Mineta's commitment to improving transit safety.
Jerry Donaldson, a longtime observer of the motor carrier agency, called the internal review "unprecedented." He said he was skeptical it would produce meaningful change in what critics have labeled as one of government's worst-run agencies.
But he said the request to Mr. Mead, a vocal critic, sends the signal that the Transportation Department considers the situation to be serious.
"He's been after this agency hammer and tong," said Mr. Donaldson, senior researcher for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety. "If the OIG does an investigation, you are going to be sure you are going to get a really candid appraisal."
The dual reviews are being launched within days of the motor carrier administration taking the rare step of ordering Global to cease operations. The order followed a two-week compliance review that found 168 violations of federal safety regulations, more than half related to maintenance and vehicle conditions.
Ms. Sandberg approved the shutdown order, Mr. Turmail said.
Investigators examining the fatal Sept. 23 fire on Global's bus have cited inadequate maintenance of the rear brakes and wheel bearings as the likely reason a rear tire caught fire, setting off explosions that incinerated the vehicle.
Global's attorney, Mark Cooper, did not return a phone call on Friday. James Maples, the bus company's owner, could not be reached.
Lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of the accident have accused Global of operating negligently.
Houston attorney Robert Luke, who is representing two survivors of the bus fire as well as families of three people who died in it, said he was pleased to hear that motor carrier officials were conducting an internal investigation.
"I'm glad they're at least grading their own papers. There are going to be a lot of people outside of the government rating their papers as well, and the lawyers on the case are going to be some of those people."
Company problems
Global and its predecessor, Global Tours and Charters, have a history of financial troubles and allegations of shoddy maintenance and records keeping. Mr. Maples filed for bankruptcy protection from his creditors in February 2005. Since 2001, he and other drivers have been stopped more than a dozen times by state and federal inspectors.
The Texas Department of Public Safety, the state agency that also regulates bus companies, conducted an "educational contact" with the company in April 2002 after receiving complaints from customers about its operations.
The inspection found several violations of safety regulations and "strongly advised" Mr. Maples to implement improvements. But it did not result in any further enforcement action or any follow-up reviews by state authorities.
The DPS review was conducted by Juan Jauregui, a civilian investigator who subsequently went to work for the federal motor carrier agency. Since 2003, Mr. Jauregui has been a private safety consultant. Global is one of his clients.
"He's always had a positive attitude towards safety," Mr. Jauregui said of Global's owner. "I know the reports say otherwise."
Mr. Turmail said the internal review would also look at Mr. Jauregui's role in the motor carrier agency's 2004 compliance review. Mr. Jauregui was interviewed as part of that review, which found several violations of records keeping regulations that were similar to those he had discovered in his 2002 inspection.
In an interview this week, Mr. Jauregui said that his participation in the 2004 compliance review had no effect on the investigator, a former colleague.
The 2004 compliance review was prompted by four negative roadside inspections the year before, particularly involving incidents when drivers exceeded maximum working hours or didn't have a logbook, Mr. Turmail said.
As a result of the review, the Texas office of the motor carrier agency was supposed to monitor the company through SafeStat, a statistical rating system drawn from reports of contacts by state and federal safety regulators.
Critics, which include Mr. Mead, the inspector general, have alleged that SafeStat is ineffective because the records that it relies on are incomplete and do not give an accurate assessment of small carriers, which represent the bulk of bus companies.
SafeStat, which stands for Safety Status Measurement System, rates companies in four categories: drivers, vehicles, accidents and overall safety management. Global was initially given a rating of 74 for driver safety, which is one point below a threshold that warns of serious problems. In March 2005, the driver safety rating jumped to 97.
Mr. Turmail attributed the higher score to a single incident involving a Global bus driver. Because the rating is calculated in part on the size of the company, he said, such a sharp increase would not be seen as abnormal. He also noted that it generally requires SafeStat scores above 75 in two or more categories to trigger a compliance review.
June, August incidents
Nor was it unusual, he said, that the company's safety rating was not affected by two additional incidents in June and August in which Global drivers were taken off the road for records keeping and licensing issues.
No compliance review of Global was planned, he said, before the Wilmer fire, which occurred as the patients were being evacuated from a nursing home in Houston in advance of Hurricane Rita.
The bus fire triggered the second compliance review, Mr. Turmail said.
"This is a horrific incident," he said, "and we wanted to make sure no stone was left unturned."
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TexasStooge
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Driver in bus fire faces charges
DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - The 37-year-old driver initially hailed as a hero for helping elderly hurricane evacuees escape a bus fire last month now faces a charge of criminal negligent homicide for each of the 23 victims that perished.
Despite initial reports that Juan Robles Gutierrez helped pull people off the bus before his bus was engulfed in flames before dawn on Sept. 23 on Interstate 45, the Dallas County sheriff’s department now says that they could find no proof of that, said Sgt. Don Peritz, sheriff’s spokesman.
Immigration officials arrested Mr. Robles after the fire for entering the U.S. illegally. Late last week, federal marshals took him into custody as a criminal material witness.
Mr. Robles drove for Global Limo Inc. Federal regulators shut down the South Texas company Oct. 7, saying it posed an imminent hazard. Global's attorney did not return a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment Friday.
DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News) - The 37-year-old driver initially hailed as a hero for helping elderly hurricane evacuees escape a bus fire last month now faces a charge of criminal negligent homicide for each of the 23 victims that perished.
Despite initial reports that Juan Robles Gutierrez helped pull people off the bus before his bus was engulfed in flames before dawn on Sept. 23 on Interstate 45, the Dallas County sheriff’s department now says that they could find no proof of that, said Sgt. Don Peritz, sheriff’s spokesman.
Immigration officials arrested Mr. Robles after the fire for entering the U.S. illegally. Late last week, federal marshals took him into custody as a criminal material witness.
Mr. Robles drove for Global Limo Inc. Federal regulators shut down the South Texas company Oct. 7, saying it posed an imminent hazard. Global's attorney did not return a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment Friday.
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TexasStooge
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Bus driver a witness in grand jury inquiry
Panel's investigation of 23 burning deaths has produced an indictment
By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The driver of a charter bus in which 23 elderly nursing home patients burned to death near Dallas is a material witness in a federal grand jury investigation that has already produced one sealed indictment, sources said Tuesday.
Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in San Antonio but is being sought by the U.S. attorney's office in Houston, said George Shaffer, a San Antonio criminal defense attorney hired to represent him.
Mr. Shaffer confirmed there is an ongoing federal grand jury investigation in Houston but said he could not discuss the nature or targets of the inquiry.
"We're talking about grand jury secrecy in part, and we're talking about a different type of motion that has been filed under seal and is to remain under seal until the court orders its disclosure," Mr. Shaffer said.
John Butler, chief deputy of the Marshals Service in San Antonio, said he was told he could not discuss Mr. Robles' case because "everything is sealed."
"It's a sealed indictment," he said. "And there's multi jurisdictions, three separate federal districts involved, and so we are not at liberty to discuss anything."
The U.S. attorney's office in Houston declined to comment. The chief deputy of the Marshals Service in Houston said she was unfamiliar with Mr. Robles' case.
The disclosure of Mr. Robles' role in a federal criminal inquiry comes a day after the Dallas County Sheriff's Department announced it had referred charges of criminally negligent homicide against Mr. Robles to the district attorney.
The state felony charges stem from an investigation by the sheriff's office that concluded that Mr. Robles repeatedly ignored his responsibilities to ensure that the bus he drove from Houston to Dallas on Sept. 22 and 23 was safe to operate.
38 residents aboard
The bus was carrying 38 residents of Brighton Gardens to other nursing facilities in the Dallas area in advance of Hurricane Rita. The victims, many of whom were in wheelchairs and used oxygen, died on board after a series of explosions.
Each of the charges against Mr. Robles carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison. A county grand jury is expected to review them in the next few weeks.
Mr. Shaffer, who said he spoke with Mr. Robles for the first time on Tuesday, said he was assured by his client that the criminal charges are unwarranted.
"I don't see that he did anything criminal. I don't see that he did anything other than what any one of us would have done under the same or similar circumstances," the attorney said.
Mr. Robles has told members of his family that he helped rescue people from the doomed bus, which caught fire and burned on Interstate 45 near Wilmer. His account was confirmed to The Dallas Morning News by one elderly passenger.
Mr. Robles' family, which owns a bus company and lives near Monterrey, Mexico, complained that he was being treated unfairly.
"He said he got off the bus and tried to put out the burning tire, but he couldn't do anything ... the fire was too spread out," his brother Carlos Robles said Tuesday. "He said he carried three persons in his arms and got them off the bus."
After the accident, family members urged Mr. Robles to return to Mexico, but, "He wanted to face the consequences, help in some way and clear up his responsibility," said his brother Rodolfo Robles.
Mr. Shaffer suggested that because of the high-profile nature of the case and the high loss of life, Dallas County law enforcement authorities had made Mr. Robles "a sacrificial lamb to appease public conscience."
Sgt. Don Peritz, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, sharply disputed that characterization, insisting that the investigation was broader than Mr. Robles.
"He certainly doesn't bear 100 percent of the weight of this, and we don't intend for him to do so," Sgt. Peritz said. "There are other parties that are responsible for maintenance and upkeep and hiring him."
Sgt. Peritz said he was unaware of any federal investigation until he read news reports that Mr. Robles, a Mexican national, had gone from being held on immigration charges to being handled as a material witness.
Although details of the federal investigation remain unclear, the authorities running the probe are located in the same federal district where Mr. Robles worked as a contract driver for Global Limo Inc. of Pharr.
Mr. Robles' family said he had been a bus driver in Mexico for many years before going to work for Global in February because he could earn more money. The Robleses had been living until recently in a small trailer behind Global's office.
His family said Mr. Robles had had no accidents as a driver.
Federal regulators ordered Global to cease operations on Oct. 7 after finding 168 violations that convinced them that the company posed an imminent danger to the public.
James Maples, the bus company's owner, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His attorney, Mark Cooper, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Shaffer said he spoke with an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston who is involved in the federal investigation. He said he was unaware of any indictment.
The attorney said he had asked the Marshals Service to delay a scheduled transfer of Mr. Robles to Houston today. "I do know that whatever was going to happen tomorrow is not going to happen," he said Tuesday.
In an earlier conversation, Mr. Shaffer said that converting someone who is accused of immigration violations into a material witness is often a means the government employs to ensure that a detainee is not deported before he can testify.
35-day holding limit
By local federal rules in San Antonio, he said, material witnesses cannot be held for more than 35 days before they give a deposition.
Mr. Shaffer said his client appeared to be in good spirits during his visit.
"But I'm sure that at the same time it's confusing not knowing our system, not knowing our language, not knowing what his basic rights may be or may not be, how a trial goes in our system. It's got to be a frightening prospect," he said.
While not predicting the course his client's case might take, Mr. Shaffer said Mr. Robles had been cooperating with law enforcement. Mr. Robles had given at least one statement to authorities while in federal detention, Mr. Shaffer said.
He said he did not know whether anyone else linked to Global Limo was being sought by federal authorities as a material witness.
Staff writer Bruce Nichols contributed from Houston and Al Dia staff writer Vanesa Salinas contributed from Monterrey, Mexico.
Panel's investigation of 23 burning deaths has produced an indictment
By STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - The driver of a charter bus in which 23 elderly nursing home patients burned to death near Dallas is a material witness in a federal grand jury investigation that has already produced one sealed indictment, sources said Tuesday.
Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, is in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in San Antonio but is being sought by the U.S. attorney's office in Houston, said George Shaffer, a San Antonio criminal defense attorney hired to represent him.
Mr. Shaffer confirmed there is an ongoing federal grand jury investigation in Houston but said he could not discuss the nature or targets of the inquiry.
"We're talking about grand jury secrecy in part, and we're talking about a different type of motion that has been filed under seal and is to remain under seal until the court orders its disclosure," Mr. Shaffer said.
John Butler, chief deputy of the Marshals Service in San Antonio, said he was told he could not discuss Mr. Robles' case because "everything is sealed."
"It's a sealed indictment," he said. "And there's multi jurisdictions, three separate federal districts involved, and so we are not at liberty to discuss anything."
The U.S. attorney's office in Houston declined to comment. The chief deputy of the Marshals Service in Houston said she was unfamiliar with Mr. Robles' case.
The disclosure of Mr. Robles' role in a federal criminal inquiry comes a day after the Dallas County Sheriff's Department announced it had referred charges of criminally negligent homicide against Mr. Robles to the district attorney.
The state felony charges stem from an investigation by the sheriff's office that concluded that Mr. Robles repeatedly ignored his responsibilities to ensure that the bus he drove from Houston to Dallas on Sept. 22 and 23 was safe to operate.
38 residents aboard
The bus was carrying 38 residents of Brighton Gardens to other nursing facilities in the Dallas area in advance of Hurricane Rita. The victims, many of whom were in wheelchairs and used oxygen, died on board after a series of explosions.
Each of the charges against Mr. Robles carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison. A county grand jury is expected to review them in the next few weeks.
Mr. Shaffer, who said he spoke with Mr. Robles for the first time on Tuesday, said he was assured by his client that the criminal charges are unwarranted.
"I don't see that he did anything criminal. I don't see that he did anything other than what any one of us would have done under the same or similar circumstances," the attorney said.
Mr. Robles has told members of his family that he helped rescue people from the doomed bus, which caught fire and burned on Interstate 45 near Wilmer. His account was confirmed to The Dallas Morning News by one elderly passenger.
Mr. Robles' family, which owns a bus company and lives near Monterrey, Mexico, complained that he was being treated unfairly.
"He said he got off the bus and tried to put out the burning tire, but he couldn't do anything ... the fire was too spread out," his brother Carlos Robles said Tuesday. "He said he carried three persons in his arms and got them off the bus."
After the accident, family members urged Mr. Robles to return to Mexico, but, "He wanted to face the consequences, help in some way and clear up his responsibility," said his brother Rodolfo Robles.
Mr. Shaffer suggested that because of the high-profile nature of the case and the high loss of life, Dallas County law enforcement authorities had made Mr. Robles "a sacrificial lamb to appease public conscience."
Sgt. Don Peritz, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Department, sharply disputed that characterization, insisting that the investigation was broader than Mr. Robles.
"He certainly doesn't bear 100 percent of the weight of this, and we don't intend for him to do so," Sgt. Peritz said. "There are other parties that are responsible for maintenance and upkeep and hiring him."
Sgt. Peritz said he was unaware of any federal investigation until he read news reports that Mr. Robles, a Mexican national, had gone from being held on immigration charges to being handled as a material witness.
Although details of the federal investigation remain unclear, the authorities running the probe are located in the same federal district where Mr. Robles worked as a contract driver for Global Limo Inc. of Pharr.
Mr. Robles' family said he had been a bus driver in Mexico for many years before going to work for Global in February because he could earn more money. The Robleses had been living until recently in a small trailer behind Global's office.
His family said Mr. Robles had had no accidents as a driver.
Federal regulators ordered Global to cease operations on Oct. 7 after finding 168 violations that convinced them that the company posed an imminent danger to the public.
James Maples, the bus company's owner, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. His attorney, Mark Cooper, did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr. Shaffer said he spoke with an assistant U.S. attorney in Houston who is involved in the federal investigation. He said he was unaware of any indictment.
The attorney said he had asked the Marshals Service to delay a scheduled transfer of Mr. Robles to Houston today. "I do know that whatever was going to happen tomorrow is not going to happen," he said Tuesday.
In an earlier conversation, Mr. Shaffer said that converting someone who is accused of immigration violations into a material witness is often a means the government employs to ensure that a detainee is not deported before he can testify.
35-day holding limit
By local federal rules in San Antonio, he said, material witnesses cannot be held for more than 35 days before they give a deposition.
Mr. Shaffer said his client appeared to be in good spirits during his visit.
"But I'm sure that at the same time it's confusing not knowing our system, not knowing our language, not knowing what his basic rights may be or may not be, how a trial goes in our system. It's got to be a frightening prospect," he said.
While not predicting the course his client's case might take, Mr. Shaffer said Mr. Robles had been cooperating with law enforcement. Mr. Robles had given at least one statement to authorities while in federal detention, Mr. Shaffer said.
He said he did not know whether anyone else linked to Global Limo was being sought by federal authorities as a material witness.
Staff writer Bruce Nichols contributed from Houston and Al Dia staff writer Vanesa Salinas contributed from Monterrey, Mexico.
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TexasStooge
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Bus firm slipped through system
Carrier ratings relying on old, missing data criticized for years
By MICHAEL GRABELL and STEVE MCGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - After finding that Global Limo bus drivers had violated maximum working hours again and again, federal regulators were supposed to watch the South Texas company.
But the regulators' system for checking dangerous bus operators – such as the one involved in last month's fire that killed 23 elderly hurricane evacuees near Dallas – has been criticized for years for relying on inaccurate and outdated information.
Despite four more drivers being put out of service after the 2004 review, a bankruptcy and more than a dozen violations, the U.S. Department of Transportation's system, known as SafeStat, never flagged Global for a full-scale safety audit.
Missing and wrong information about carriers and their safety records have drawn complaints from consumer advocates and industry officials. Even the Department of Transportation's independent watchdog has come down on the system for underreported traffic tickets, old crash data and violations listed for the wrong carrier.
"The great majority of the passenger carriers out there – both the good ones and the bad ones – either have no ratings or have completely undated, unreliable and meaningless ratings," said Jerry Donaldson, research director for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
The Department of Transportation is investigating how Global went from being "very concerned with being in compliance" to having a "flagrant general disregard for compliance" and how it can do a better job tracking problem carriers.
The department's research center has done a study showing that SafeStat does a good job of identifying carriers likely to be involved in a crash and encouraging bad carriers to improve.
"This is a system that really gives us a measure of on-the-road performance and an opportunity to focus where we need our inspections resources to go," department spokesman Brian Turmail said.
But the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, within the department, has agreed that SafeStat might make dangerous carriers look good.
To trigger a compliance review, a carrier must be deficient – scoring higher than 75 out of 100 – in two of four categories weighing accident history, driver safety, vehicle conditions and safety management programs.
•Global scored a 97 for driver safety, meaning that it is worse than 97 percent of all companies.
•It had no score for its safety management programs because of insufficient data, though Global had two prior safety management audits.
•Its vehicle safety was rated a perfect score of 0 because SafeStat showed no buses being put out of service recently. But one bus was put out of service in New Mexico in June, and Texas state troopers routinely found maintenance problems.
•Its accident history also was 0 because SafeStat reported no crashes for Global. Yet city and county accident reports submitted to the state showed drivers known to be employed by Global had been involved in accidents while driving a commercial vehicle. But the report did not identify whether it was a Global vehicle being driven. SafeStat can't assign a crash if it doesn't know the company.
Insufficient data
A major problem is that the system relies on state police and motor carriers for much of its information, according to a February 2004 inspector general report.
The inspector general also faulted the system in November in a list of the Department of Transportation's top management challenges.
"At the time of our audit, states were not doing a very good job of sending crash data or inspection data in a timely fashion," said David Barnes, an inspector general spokesman.
Up until last week, Texas was one of five states rated "poor" for reporting crashes and inspection violations. The state received low marks for the accuracy of crash records and the timeliness of inspection records.
About 17 percent of the crash records did not include enough data, such as the company's identification number, to be used on SafeStat. And the state had reported only 52 percent of inspection records within 21 days, according to the June report.
"Those numbers that were on before were over a year old," said Tela Mange, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman. "It doesn't accurately reflect what we're doing now."
An update posted this week shows that Texas is now rated "good." Only 8 percent of the crash records now lack data, and the state has reported 84 percent of inspection records on time.
The update was done Sept. 23 – the same day the Global bus exploded outside Dallas.
SafeStat, short for Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System, was developed by the John A. Volpe transportation research center in the mid-1990s as a way for the motor carrier agency to prioritize bus and truck companies that need inspections.
Up until then, the agency relied on compliance reviews that couldn't be done for all carriers and weren't updated for crashes and violations that occurred before the next review.
"In the early '80s, some of the inspectors remember a time when inspections were done completely at random," Mr. Turmail said. "I've heard state and federal inspectors say they prefer SafeStat."
Complex calculations
SafeStat determines how safe a bus company is with a complex algorithm that assigns points for accidents, traffic tickets, mechanical problems and regulatory violations.
The scores are then weighted for the severity of crashes and how recent the problems are. The new numbers are then divided by the number of vehicles and drivers and added up with extra weight given to the crash and driver safety ratings. There are other factors, but this is the general equation.
"I find the calculus impenetrable, and I'm supposed to be an expert," said Mr. Donaldson of the consumer advocacy group. "It's the closest thing to numerology I've seen yet."
Mr. Turmail said SafeStat is not intended for consumers and is primarily a regulatory and law enforcement tool.
"If consumers are really looking to make an informed choice ... that's not the first place we would send someone," he said. He recommended calling DPS.Others said SafeStat does not have enough data to give an accurate picture of small bus companies, which make up the bulk of carriers.
"They cannot possibly evaluate a company that is small, that has a small number of buses based on that system. It's a statistical system. It's just much too small," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Clyde Hart Jr., vice president of government affairs for the American Bus Association, said SafeStat does a good job, but many one- or two-bus operators fall off the radar because the federal motor carrier agency has limited resources.
"There's just physically not enough people," said Mr. Hart, who was the carrier agency's acting deputy administrator from 2000 to 2001. "The FMCSA, like all federal agencies, always has a problem with how many resources they're given."
SafeStat has made changes since the inspector general's report by posting disclaimers about the accuracy of information, a map comparing how states report and a link to correct data.
The inspector general is working on an audit of the motor carrier administration's progress since the agency was formed in 1999. The report, which was started in late 2003, is due soon but has been delayed as auditors are pulled away to investigate the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Staff writer Holly Becka contributed to this report.
Carrier ratings relying on old, missing data criticized for years
By MICHAEL GRABELL and STEVE MCGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News
DALLAS, Texas - After finding that Global Limo bus drivers had violated maximum working hours again and again, federal regulators were supposed to watch the South Texas company.
But the regulators' system for checking dangerous bus operators – such as the one involved in last month's fire that killed 23 elderly hurricane evacuees near Dallas – has been criticized for years for relying on inaccurate and outdated information.
Despite four more drivers being put out of service after the 2004 review, a bankruptcy and more than a dozen violations, the U.S. Department of Transportation's system, known as SafeStat, never flagged Global for a full-scale safety audit.
Missing and wrong information about carriers and their safety records have drawn complaints from consumer advocates and industry officials. Even the Department of Transportation's independent watchdog has come down on the system for underreported traffic tickets, old crash data and violations listed for the wrong carrier.
"The great majority of the passenger carriers out there – both the good ones and the bad ones – either have no ratings or have completely undated, unreliable and meaningless ratings," said Jerry Donaldson, research director for Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
The Department of Transportation is investigating how Global went from being "very concerned with being in compliance" to having a "flagrant general disregard for compliance" and how it can do a better job tracking problem carriers.
The department's research center has done a study showing that SafeStat does a good job of identifying carriers likely to be involved in a crash and encouraging bad carriers to improve.
"This is a system that really gives us a measure of on-the-road performance and an opportunity to focus where we need our inspections resources to go," department spokesman Brian Turmail said.
But the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, within the department, has agreed that SafeStat might make dangerous carriers look good.
To trigger a compliance review, a carrier must be deficient – scoring higher than 75 out of 100 – in two of four categories weighing accident history, driver safety, vehicle conditions and safety management programs.
•Global scored a 97 for driver safety, meaning that it is worse than 97 percent of all companies.
•It had no score for its safety management programs because of insufficient data, though Global had two prior safety management audits.
•Its vehicle safety was rated a perfect score of 0 because SafeStat showed no buses being put out of service recently. But one bus was put out of service in New Mexico in June, and Texas state troopers routinely found maintenance problems.
•Its accident history also was 0 because SafeStat reported no crashes for Global. Yet city and county accident reports submitted to the state showed drivers known to be employed by Global had been involved in accidents while driving a commercial vehicle. But the report did not identify whether it was a Global vehicle being driven. SafeStat can't assign a crash if it doesn't know the company.
Insufficient data
A major problem is that the system relies on state police and motor carriers for much of its information, according to a February 2004 inspector general report.
The inspector general also faulted the system in November in a list of the Department of Transportation's top management challenges.
"At the time of our audit, states were not doing a very good job of sending crash data or inspection data in a timely fashion," said David Barnes, an inspector general spokesman.
Up until last week, Texas was one of five states rated "poor" for reporting crashes and inspection violations. The state received low marks for the accuracy of crash records and the timeliness of inspection records.
About 17 percent of the crash records did not include enough data, such as the company's identification number, to be used on SafeStat. And the state had reported only 52 percent of inspection records within 21 days, according to the June report.
"Those numbers that were on before were over a year old," said Tela Mange, a Texas Department of Public Safety spokeswoman. "It doesn't accurately reflect what we're doing now."
An update posted this week shows that Texas is now rated "good." Only 8 percent of the crash records now lack data, and the state has reported 84 percent of inspection records on time.
The update was done Sept. 23 – the same day the Global bus exploded outside Dallas.
SafeStat, short for Motor Carrier Safety Status Measurement System, was developed by the John A. Volpe transportation research center in the mid-1990s as a way for the motor carrier agency to prioritize bus and truck companies that need inspections.
Up until then, the agency relied on compliance reviews that couldn't be done for all carriers and weren't updated for crashes and violations that occurred before the next review.
"In the early '80s, some of the inspectors remember a time when inspections were done completely at random," Mr. Turmail said. "I've heard state and federal inspectors say they prefer SafeStat."
Complex calculations
SafeStat determines how safe a bus company is with a complex algorithm that assigns points for accidents, traffic tickets, mechanical problems and regulatory violations.
The scores are then weighted for the severity of crashes and how recent the problems are. The new numbers are then divided by the number of vehicles and drivers and added up with extra weight given to the crash and driver safety ratings. There are other factors, but this is the general equation.
"I find the calculus impenetrable, and I'm supposed to be an expert," said Mr. Donaldson of the consumer advocacy group. "It's the closest thing to numerology I've seen yet."
Mr. Turmail said SafeStat is not intended for consumers and is primarily a regulatory and law enforcement tool.
"If consumers are really looking to make an informed choice ... that's not the first place we would send someone," he said. He recommended calling DPS.Others said SafeStat does not have enough data to give an accurate picture of small bus companies, which make up the bulk of carriers.
"They cannot possibly evaluate a company that is small, that has a small number of buses based on that system. It's a statistical system. It's just much too small," said Joan Claybrook, president of Public Citizen and former head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Clyde Hart Jr., vice president of government affairs for the American Bus Association, said SafeStat does a good job, but many one- or two-bus operators fall off the radar because the federal motor carrier agency has limited resources.
"There's just physically not enough people," said Mr. Hart, who was the carrier agency's acting deputy administrator from 2000 to 2001. "The FMCSA, like all federal agencies, always has a problem with how many resources they're given."
SafeStat has made changes since the inspector general's report by posting disclaimers about the accuracy of information, a map comparing how states report and a link to correct data.
The inspector general is working on an audit of the motor carrier administration's progress since the agency was formed in 1999. The report, which was started in late 2003, is due soon but has been delayed as auditors are pulled away to investigate the government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Staff writer Holly Becka contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Bus driver to help federal prosecutors in probe
HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A Mexican national who has been accused of the deaths of 23 nursing home patients in a bus fire while they fled Hurricane Rita was detained by federal prosecutors on Wednesday as part of their investigation.
Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson, who informed him he would be detained in Houston as a material witness to an investigation by the federal government.
Johnson said federal prosecutors had until Nov. 11 to depose Robles.
“It's anticipated once he gives his deposition, he will be close to the end of his service in this matter,” George Shaffer, Robles' attorney, said after the brief hearing. “Mr. Robles has instructed me to communicate to the government he is prepared to cooperate in any way possible.”
But neither Shaffer nor Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kinchen would comment on the nature of the investigation or who or what the object of that probe might be.
Robles, who was brought to the hearing from San Antonio and appeared in handcuffs connected to a chain around his waist, will be held at the federal detention center in Houston until he gives his deposition. After the hearing, Shaffer spoke briefly with his client in Spanish, telling him not to worry.
Kinchen said he was not sure what would happen to Robles or where he would be taken after his deposition because Robles still faces federal immigration charges for being in the country illegally.
A state grand jury in Dallas is also set to consider 23 criminal negligent homicide cases against Robles.
The bus caught fire outside of Dallas about 16 hours after leaving Houston with residents of the Brighton Gardens nursing home who were fleeing Hurricane Rita. Some passengers and the driver escaped but the flames, fed by 18 medical oxygen tanks that also caused explosions, trapped many inside.
The bus company, Global Limo Inc. of Pharr, was shut down by federal regulators Oct. 7.
Investigators have focused on the condition of the bus brakes. A motorist told investigators he motioned the driver to pull over shortly after seeing a rear wheel hub that was glowing red.
Authorities said Robles did not mention the encounter with the other driver when they interviewed him after the fire.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has said that the bus' right rear brakes failed because of the loss of bearings, and that the left rear brakes were “not maintained in good working order.”
Two published reports on Wednesday focused on a disagreement between spokesmen for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department and the district attorney over whether Robles is officially charged with criminal negligent homicide.
The cases were forwarded to District Attorney Bill Hill by the sheriff earlier this month.
Officials with the DA and the sheriff both said Wednesday that the cases remain on track to go before a Dallas County grand jury. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Don Peritz said the reports relate to a semantical misunderstanding.
“Nothing has changed,” Peritz said.
Said DA's spokeswoman Rachel Horton: “A grand jury will definitely hear it.”
Carlos Garcia, an official with the Mexican Consulate in Houston who attended Wednesday's hearing, said his government is paying close attention to the case to ensure Robles is treated fairly under the U.S. legal system. He said Mexican officials still want to know what specific evidence authorities in Dallas have against Robles.
“He did not cause these deaths. He is totally innocent,” said Shaffer. “He is pained to have seen this tragedy.”
Criminal negligent homicide is punishable by up to two years in state jail on each charge and up to a $10,000 fine, or both.
Several civil lawsuits have also been filed in the case.
HOUSTON, Texas (WFAA ABC 8/AP) – A Mexican national who has been accused of the deaths of 23 nursing home patients in a bus fire while they fled Hurricane Rita was detained by federal prosecutors on Wednesday as part of their investigation.
Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nancy Johnson, who informed him he would be detained in Houston as a material witness to an investigation by the federal government.
Johnson said federal prosecutors had until Nov. 11 to depose Robles.
“It's anticipated once he gives his deposition, he will be close to the end of his service in this matter,” George Shaffer, Robles' attorney, said after the brief hearing. “Mr. Robles has instructed me to communicate to the government he is prepared to cooperate in any way possible.”
But neither Shaffer nor Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kinchen would comment on the nature of the investigation or who or what the object of that probe might be.
Robles, who was brought to the hearing from San Antonio and appeared in handcuffs connected to a chain around his waist, will be held at the federal detention center in Houston until he gives his deposition. After the hearing, Shaffer spoke briefly with his client in Spanish, telling him not to worry.
Kinchen said he was not sure what would happen to Robles or where he would be taken after his deposition because Robles still faces federal immigration charges for being in the country illegally.
A state grand jury in Dallas is also set to consider 23 criminal negligent homicide cases against Robles.
The bus caught fire outside of Dallas about 16 hours after leaving Houston with residents of the Brighton Gardens nursing home who were fleeing Hurricane Rita. Some passengers and the driver escaped but the flames, fed by 18 medical oxygen tanks that also caused explosions, trapped many inside.
The bus company, Global Limo Inc. of Pharr, was shut down by federal regulators Oct. 7.
Investigators have focused on the condition of the bus brakes. A motorist told investigators he motioned the driver to pull over shortly after seeing a rear wheel hub that was glowing red.
Authorities said Robles did not mention the encounter with the other driver when they interviewed him after the fire.
The Texas Department of Public Safety has said that the bus' right rear brakes failed because of the loss of bearings, and that the left rear brakes were “not maintained in good working order.”
Two published reports on Wednesday focused on a disagreement between spokesmen for the Dallas County Sheriff's Department and the district attorney over whether Robles is officially charged with criminal negligent homicide.
The cases were forwarded to District Attorney Bill Hill by the sheriff earlier this month.
Officials with the DA and the sheriff both said Wednesday that the cases remain on track to go before a Dallas County grand jury. Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Don Peritz said the reports relate to a semantical misunderstanding.
“Nothing has changed,” Peritz said.
Said DA's spokeswoman Rachel Horton: “A grand jury will definitely hear it.”
Carlos Garcia, an official with the Mexican Consulate in Houston who attended Wednesday's hearing, said his government is paying close attention to the case to ensure Robles is treated fairly under the U.S. legal system. He said Mexican officials still want to know what specific evidence authorities in Dallas have against Robles.
“He did not cause these deaths. He is totally innocent,” said Shaffer. “He is pained to have seen this tragedy.”
Criminal negligent homicide is punishable by up to two years in state jail on each charge and up to a $10,000 fine, or both.
Several civil lawsuits have also been filed in the case.
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TexasStooge
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TexasStooge
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Grand jury declines to indict driver in fatal bus fire
DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - A Dallas County grand jury on Monday declined to indict the driver of a bus that exploded on Interstate 45 in September, killing 23 Hurricane Rita evacuees.
Juan Robles Gutierrez, a 37-year-old Mexican citizen, has been held in federal custody in Houston as a material witness to an investigation into the deaths.
Officials said Gutierrez can't leave federal custody until immigration officials also grant bail to him on immigration charges he faces for being in the U.S. illegally.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
DALLAS, Texas (The Dallas Morning News/AP) - A Dallas County grand jury on Monday declined to indict the driver of a bus that exploded on Interstate 45 in September, killing 23 Hurricane Rita evacuees.
Juan Robles Gutierrez, a 37-year-old Mexican citizen, has been held in federal custody in Houston as a material witness to an investigation into the deaths.
Officials said Gutierrez can't leave federal custody until immigration officials also grant bail to him on immigration charges he faces for being in the U.S. illegally.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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TexasStooge
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Driver cleared in bus blaze
Mexican immigrant not indicted in deaths of 23 elderly storm evacuees
By MICHAEL GRABELL and STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News and VANESA SALINAS / Al Dia
A bus driver accused of negligently causing the deaths of 23 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees in September was cleared of criminal charges Monday by a Dallas County grand jury.
Mexican immigrant Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, was initially labeled a hero who rescued his frail passengers from the burning bus on Interstate 45 in Wilmer, but Dallas County sheriff's officials later said he never rescued anyone and was an irresponsible caretaker of a poorly maintained bus.
The grand jury did not issue a statement about its decision, and prosecutors declined to comment about what happened, citing the secret nature of grand jury proceedings.
Sgt. Don Peritz, a spokesman for the sheriff, said the decision not to indict Mr. Robles would not be a setback for the department's investigation.
"There are still many aspects of the investigation to look at," he said. "You've got the people that leased the bus, the people that owned the bus, the people that maintained the bus."
Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who spoke at a news conference Oct. 17 announcing that charges would be referred, declined to comment on the grand jury's decision through Sgt. Peritz.
Rachel Horton, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said the grand jury's action closes the case on state charges unless the Sheriff's Department files more.
"It's like any other investigation," she said. "We'll look at charges when and if they're filed with our office."
Mr. Robles, who was driving the bus for Global Limo ahead of the hurricane, remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Houston on Monday as a material witness to an undisclosed federal investigation.
"We are very happy with the results and thankful for all the support we received from everyone and Juan's family," said Agustin Rodriguez, head of legal affairs for the Mexican Consulate in San Antonio. "We were always confident that the authorities were going to conduct a good investigation."
In recent weeks, the potential charges were sharply criticized in media reports by Mr. Rodriguez and other Mexican officials, who called the sheriff's investigation rash and sloppy.
Mr. Rodriguez said it's possible Mr. Robles will be freed today. His attorney George Shaffer announced Thursday that he had reached an agreement for the release of his client on a $50,000 bond until all legal matters related to the fatal bus fire are resolved.
But Nina Pruneda, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said that even if Mr. Robles is released by the marshals, he will remain in immigration custody to face administrative charges of entering the country illegally.
Mr. Robles' brother, Carlos Robles Gutierrez, said he was glad to hear that the grand jury declined to indict his brother.
"We always believed in U.S. justice," he said by phone from Monterrey, Mexico. "My mother is over ... [in Houston]. I hope somebody tells her."
At last month's news conference, the Sheriff's Department announced that it had referred 23 charges of criminally negligent homicide – the most counts that officials could remember any suspect facing – to a Dallas County grand jury.
At the time, sheriff's officials faulted Mr. Robles for not inspecting the bus periodically during the 15-hour trip and failing to help passengers when the bus went up in flames Sept. 23.
Investigators have said that poor maintenance caused the wheel bearings to heat up and ignite the blaze that spread to oxygen tanks used by the elderly nursing home residents on board.
Several police officers and passers-by made frantic attempts to rescue the 45 patients and staff members, but 23 elderly people died.
Sgt. Peritz said Monday that investigators were following policy when they referred criminal charges for possible prosecution.
"It's not that it's a solid case or not a solid case," he said. "The policy is that we refer all cases involving deaths to a grand jury. It was a policy issue."
Dallas County prosecutors presented the case against Mr. Robles to the grand jury to determine whether criminal charges were warranted.
Had Mr. Robles been indicted for criminally negligent homicide, prosecutors would have had to prove that although he did not intend to place his passengers in harm's way, he should have known that his actions were dangerous.
Criminally negligent homicide is a felony that carries a penalty of up to two years in state jail.
Ronald Bair, a Houston attorney representing the family of one of the victims in a lawsuit, said he did not believe that the driver deserved criminal charges.
"He was an easy target," he said. "He was sort of an indentured servant. He didn't have any choice but to do what he was told to do. They need to indict the people that put him in that position. I don't think this should just go away quietly. I don't think it's the end of the story."
Jim Maples, Global Limo's owner, hung up on a reporter who called him for comment. His attorney, Mark Cooper, did not return a message left at his office.
Sgt. Peritz said the investigation involving other parties required a much slower process than the investigation into Mr. Robles' role in the fire.
"There's still lots of other information that's necessary," he said. "Those have to be obtained by subpoena, record information, things of that nature – metallurgical tests. A lot of that stuff takes a while longer."
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who had been critical of the sheriff's decision to seek criminal charges against Mr. Robles, said grand jurors acted properly.
"I think that's the only thing they could have done," he said.
Mr. Price said investigators told him they had to refer charges against the bus driver to avoid accusations of selective prosecution. He said he hopes the investigation continues.
"Someone needs to pursue it," he said. "And if they are going to claim jurisdiction with regards to the bus driver because he was in care, custody and control of the vehicle, I still think they ought to follow it to the next line of logic, which is the bus company."
The grand jury's decision not to indict Mr. Robles is the second time in two years that the sheriff's office has tried and failed to hold a commercial driver or his employer criminally responsible for a high-profile traffic fatality.
Two years ago, another grand jury rebuffed sheriff's investigators who sought to indict the owner of a trucking company on manslaughter charges in the death of an 11-year-old Austin girl whose car was crushed on Interstate 35.
The driver of the truck, who had a long history of collisions, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges last year and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Staff writers Robert Tharp and Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report.
Mexican immigrant not indicted in deaths of 23 elderly storm evacuees
By MICHAEL GRABELL and STEVE McGONIGLE / The Dallas Morning News and VANESA SALINAS / Al Dia
A bus driver accused of negligently causing the deaths of 23 elderly Hurricane Rita evacuees in September was cleared of criminal charges Monday by a Dallas County grand jury.
Mexican immigrant Juan Robles Gutierrez, 37, was initially labeled a hero who rescued his frail passengers from the burning bus on Interstate 45 in Wilmer, but Dallas County sheriff's officials later said he never rescued anyone and was an irresponsible caretaker of a poorly maintained bus.
The grand jury did not issue a statement about its decision, and prosecutors declined to comment about what happened, citing the secret nature of grand jury proceedings.
Sgt. Don Peritz, a spokesman for the sheriff, said the decision not to indict Mr. Robles would not be a setback for the department's investigation.
"There are still many aspects of the investigation to look at," he said. "You've got the people that leased the bus, the people that owned the bus, the people that maintained the bus."
Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who spoke at a news conference Oct. 17 announcing that charges would be referred, declined to comment on the grand jury's decision through Sgt. Peritz.
Rachel Horton, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office, said the grand jury's action closes the case on state charges unless the Sheriff's Department files more.
"It's like any other investigation," she said. "We'll look at charges when and if they're filed with our office."
Mr. Robles, who was driving the bus for Global Limo ahead of the hurricane, remained in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service in Houston on Monday as a material witness to an undisclosed federal investigation.
"We are very happy with the results and thankful for all the support we received from everyone and Juan's family," said Agustin Rodriguez, head of legal affairs for the Mexican Consulate in San Antonio. "We were always confident that the authorities were going to conduct a good investigation."
In recent weeks, the potential charges were sharply criticized in media reports by Mr. Rodriguez and other Mexican officials, who called the sheriff's investigation rash and sloppy.
Mr. Rodriguez said it's possible Mr. Robles will be freed today. His attorney George Shaffer announced Thursday that he had reached an agreement for the release of his client on a $50,000 bond until all legal matters related to the fatal bus fire are resolved.
But Nina Pruneda, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman, said that even if Mr. Robles is released by the marshals, he will remain in immigration custody to face administrative charges of entering the country illegally.
Mr. Robles' brother, Carlos Robles Gutierrez, said he was glad to hear that the grand jury declined to indict his brother.
"We always believed in U.S. justice," he said by phone from Monterrey, Mexico. "My mother is over ... [in Houston]. I hope somebody tells her."
At last month's news conference, the Sheriff's Department announced that it had referred 23 charges of criminally negligent homicide – the most counts that officials could remember any suspect facing – to a Dallas County grand jury.
At the time, sheriff's officials faulted Mr. Robles for not inspecting the bus periodically during the 15-hour trip and failing to help passengers when the bus went up in flames Sept. 23.
Investigators have said that poor maintenance caused the wheel bearings to heat up and ignite the blaze that spread to oxygen tanks used by the elderly nursing home residents on board.
Several police officers and passers-by made frantic attempts to rescue the 45 patients and staff members, but 23 elderly people died.
Sgt. Peritz said Monday that investigators were following policy when they referred criminal charges for possible prosecution.
"It's not that it's a solid case or not a solid case," he said. "The policy is that we refer all cases involving deaths to a grand jury. It was a policy issue."
Dallas County prosecutors presented the case against Mr. Robles to the grand jury to determine whether criminal charges were warranted.
Had Mr. Robles been indicted for criminally negligent homicide, prosecutors would have had to prove that although he did not intend to place his passengers in harm's way, he should have known that his actions were dangerous.
Criminally negligent homicide is a felony that carries a penalty of up to two years in state jail.
Ronald Bair, a Houston attorney representing the family of one of the victims in a lawsuit, said he did not believe that the driver deserved criminal charges.
"He was an easy target," he said. "He was sort of an indentured servant. He didn't have any choice but to do what he was told to do. They need to indict the people that put him in that position. I don't think this should just go away quietly. I don't think it's the end of the story."
Jim Maples, Global Limo's owner, hung up on a reporter who called him for comment. His attorney, Mark Cooper, did not return a message left at his office.
Sgt. Peritz said the investigation involving other parties required a much slower process than the investigation into Mr. Robles' role in the fire.
"There's still lots of other information that's necessary," he said. "Those have to be obtained by subpoena, record information, things of that nature – metallurgical tests. A lot of that stuff takes a while longer."
Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price, who had been critical of the sheriff's decision to seek criminal charges against Mr. Robles, said grand jurors acted properly.
"I think that's the only thing they could have done," he said.
Mr. Price said investigators told him they had to refer charges against the bus driver to avoid accusations of selective prosecution. He said he hopes the investigation continues.
"Someone needs to pursue it," he said. "And if they are going to claim jurisdiction with regards to the bus driver because he was in care, custody and control of the vehicle, I still think they ought to follow it to the next line of logic, which is the bus company."
The grand jury's decision not to indict Mr. Robles is the second time in two years that the sheriff's office has tried and failed to hold a commercial driver or his employer criminally responsible for a high-profile traffic fatality.
Two years ago, another grand jury rebuffed sheriff's investigators who sought to indict the owner of a trucking company on manslaughter charges in the death of an 11-year-old Austin girl whose car was crushed on Interstate 35.
The driver of the truck, who had a long history of collisions, pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges last year and was sentenced to 20 years in prison.
Staff writers Robert Tharp and Tanya Eiserer contributed to this report.
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