By Staff Reporter
Penwell, Texas
According to a National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) report released today a displaced guard rail and icy conditions maybe to blame for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice bus accident in Penwell, Texas that left 10 people dead. The report states:
"Early on the morning of January 14, three additional crashes, attributed to icy road conditions, occurred, with the last crash taking place about 7:35 a.m. In two of these crashes, an eastbound vehicle went out of control, crossed the center median, and traveled through the area of the previously damaged guardrail—possibly displacing it partially into the left traffic lane. A witness in a vehicle traveling forward of the bus reported that moments before the bus reached the overpass the guardrail wreckage was about 2 feet into the travel lane."
"The bus struck the guardrail, veered to the left, and overrode the guardrail wreckage in the median. The bus traveled about 22 feet across the earthen median into an opening between the eastbound and westbound traffic lanes of I-20. The bus encountered a 21-foot embankment and became airborne. The bus struck the base of the embankment and continued forward toward the railroad tracks, where it impacted the fifty-fourth rail car and side of a piggy-back trailer of the UP train."The sole surviving officer from the accident, Jason Self, was released from University Medical Center in Lubbock yesterday and was moved to a rehabilitation center. Officer Self received a fractured second vertebrae in his neck and a broken arm as a result of the accident.
Officer Christopher Davis, age 53 and Officer Eligio Garcia, age 45, were killed in the accident. Eight prisoners were also killed in the accident 22-year-old Kaleb Wise, 25-year-old Michael Stewart, 34-year-old Byron Wilson, 29-year-old Tyler Townsend, 44-year-old Jesus Reyna, 35-year-old Jeremiah Rodriguez , 31-year-old Angel Vasquez and 32-year-old Adolfo Ruiz .
A more detailed report will be released once the investigation is completed by the NTSB.
See Copy of NTSB's Preliminary Report
