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No Skid Marks From Truck In Bus Crash, Truck Fire Called Into Question
The investigation into the FedEx truck that crashed into a bus carrying high school students to Humboldt State University continues, with new clues indicating the truck driver didn’t break before hitting the bus.No skid marks showed up on the 1-5 in Orland where the FedEx big rig swerved into oncoming traffic and hit the bus, City News Service reported. The bus meanwhile left 175 feet of pre-impact tire marks and showed some evidence of evasive maneuvering, according to Mark Rosekind of the National Transportation Safety Board.
While a report came in yesterday from a woman who said the truck first sideswiped her rented Nissan Altima and was on fire before hitting the bus, another eyewitness account calls that into question. Ryan Householder, 31, who lives near the 1-5, told the Los Angeles Times he saw no flames before the FedEx hit the bus.
A total of 10 people died in the crash, and more names have been revealed of those who perished. They include Denise Gomez and Ismael Jimenez, students at Animo Charter High School in Inglewood; Dorsey High School student Jennifer Bonilla; and El Monte High School senior Adrian Castro, whose mother told the Times she was 90 percent sure he had died in the crash and were awaiting the results of dental records. College recruiter Arthur Arzola, 26, of Rancho Cucamonga; 17-year-old Marisa Serrato, who attended Norte Vista High School in Riverside; and engaged couple Mattison Haywood and her fiance, Michael Myvett, 29, also died in the crash.
The names of the drivers, who both died, also have been revealed: FedEx truck driver Tim Evans, 32, and bus driver Tala Salanoa, according to ABC7. Blood samples have been taken of both drivers, and the investigation is ongoing.
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UPDATE 1:05 p.m.: NTSB says there's no physical evidence of the FedEx truck having been on fire prior to hitting the bus, ABC7 reports. However, NTSB says they're not ruling anything out. A preliminary report on the crash investigation is expected in 30 days.
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