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Bus company: Driver was rested
Published Saturday, June 21, 2008
MINNEAPOLIS — A charter bus company is disputing a report by Minnesota authorities that says one of its drivers was tired when he crashed his bus in Albertville.
A 16-year-old student from Pelican Rapids High School was killed in the April 5 crash, and the driver — Loren Ernst — has now been charged with criminal vehicular homicide and two other felonies.
But Richards Transportation, which owns the bus that crashed, says Ernst was plenty rested.
The company's president, Mark Richards, says he doesn't believe Ernst fell asleep at the wheel.
An investigator who interviewed the 69-year-old driver had reported that Ernst had only gotten about three hours of sleep in the 24 hours before the crash.
But Richards says the interview was done when Ernst was "emotionally a wreck" and that the investigator put words into his mouth.
Comments
The Daily Journal is happy to host community conversations about news and life in Fergus Falls and the surrounding area. As hosts, we expect guests will show respect for each other. That means we don't threaten or defame each other, and we keep conversations free of personal attacks. Witty is great. Abusive is not. If you think a post violates these standards, don't escalate the situation. Instead, flag the comment to alert us. We'll take action if necessary. It's not hard. This should be a place where people want to read and contribute -- a place for spirited exchanges of opinion. So those who persist with racist, defamatory or abusive postings risk losing the privilege to post at all.Posted by Sumwun (anonymous) on June 21, 2008 at 9:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
How can saying you had 3 hours of sleep in the last 24 be put in your mouth by someone else? How about an apology to the family who lost a daughter instead of trying to weasel your way out of the inevitable lawsuit.
Posted by Flashbang (anonymous) on June 21, 2008 at 10:24 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Aren't commercial bus drivers required to keep a logbook stating hours driven and hours rested in a 24hr. period? Truck drivers do this. Or did I miss something here? And in an earlier story the other bus driver was told by him that he was tired. I think the responsibility sits squarely on the shoulders of the driver and the bus company, unless they found a major mechanical breakdown that caused the bus to go out of control where the driver couldn't do anything except hang on.
Posted by LoisMustDie (anonymous) on June 21, 2008 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I have many friends in the trucking business, and trust me - almost all log books are flat out lies. They have to be or these hard working drivers would be out of business.
Posted by daidres (anonymous) on June 22, 2008 at 10:23 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Any large vehicle that requires a certain license must have a log book for mileage. To and from, miles put on, hours rested. I think they should put a new law into effect that requires all passenger carrying vehicles, like buses, mandated to go to the scale like the 18 wheelers do and have a log book check. This would prevent many many accidents! True, truckers do sometimes lie on the log books, but only because of the demands of products the average american puts on them! If it weren't for Truckers, we'd be without 90% of our goods!
Posted by Josephine (anonymous) on June 22, 2008 at 3:47 p.m. (Suggest removal)
So now do we need hypnosis or a polygraph done on the bus driver?
Posted by justme (anonymous) on June 22, 2008 at 10:32 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Well, since neither is allowed into evidence, that would be pointless. What Jessica's family and the families of all of the students and chaperones on the bus, as well as the bus driver himself need now is closure. It doesn't make it any easier to know whether the driver was at fault, but it may help to raise awareness that these kinds of accidents can be prevented.
Posted by Flashbang (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 6:03 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Explain what you mean by "closure".
Posted by horseygirl (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 10:45 a.m. (Suggest removal)
There is no "closure". I wish people, especially the media would quit using these useless words. There is never any closure when you are the victim of such a tragedy. I also detest the words "ultimate sacrifice". It makes it sound so pretty. Why doesn't the media say it like it is? They
Posted by cheif (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 12:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Feel free to start discussions about this at http://www.fergusforum.com/forum/. It's a tragic event and I believe the bus company is equally responsible for not supplying another driver.
Posted by tsy86h (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 12:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
cheif it is sad that you are trying to advertise your silly forum here. You are right this is a tragic event and for you to use it to benifit you is disrespectful.
Posted by rodentboy (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 1:12 p.m. (Suggest removal)
i think what cheif is saying that ever time a discussion gets going here it seems to get pulled if the topic gets to hot and heavy for this forum.
Posted by john (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 8:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Cmon..it is so sad that a 69 year old man needs to drive endless hours at night to make a living.....he should be RETIRED...too bad the Rethuglicans dont think so....
Posted by Flashbang (anonymous) on June 23, 2008 at 9:55 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Not all older people want to retire, and I'm not against that. Let a person work if they want. If they're physically and mentally able to hold down a job, albeit rolling out carts at Wal-Mart or whatever, let them do it. It has nothing to do with politics. You may be surprised when you get older. You may want to keep working. If you want to retire, then do so, why put a time limit on when a person has to quit working? Doesn't make sense to me.
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