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Bus Crash Probe Continues: Driver Had String Of Tickets
The driver of a Texas-bound bus involved in a deadly crash had several traffic citations in the past six years.
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(November 30, 2007)--The driver of a Chicago-to-Dallas bus that crashed in Arkansas killing three people has had several traffic citations in the past six years.
Law enforcement records show officers ticketed Felix Badillo Tapia of Brownsville, a driver for Dallas-based Tornado Bus Lines, for speeding four times since 2001.
Meanwhile, Arkansas troopers say they've finished interviewing witnesses in last Sunday night's crash that injured dozens of passengers.
The 28-year-old Tapia drove a bus that crashed on Interstate 40 east of Forrest City.
Two people on the bus were killed, as was the driver of a pickup involved in the crash after the bus crossed the median.
A tractor-trailer rig was also involved in the accident.
Tapia suffered minor injuries.
So far no word on what caused the wreck.
A bus company official didn't immediately comment Friday.
Law enforcement records show Tapia received a speeding ticket in South Carolina in 2001 and received two others in 2003 for speeding in the Texas cities of George West and San Antonio.
In 2005, he received another ticket for speeding in Kendall County, Texas.
In 2003, Tapia was cited for driving a "commercial vehicle" with defective brakes in Kleberg County, Texas.
The records do not say whether he was driving a bus at the time, though they show he has a commercial driver's license for driving passengers.
