RICHMOND, Va., May 31 (UPI) -- A tour bus ran off Interstate 95 in Virginia and rolled onto its roof Tuesday, killing four people and injuring most of the 55 others aboard, police said.
Virginia State Police spokeswoman Corinne Geller said driver's fatigue led to the crash, The New York Times reported. She said charges were pending and authorities were examining the bus to learn whether it had mechanical problems.
The Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's Web site showed the bus company has a poor record when it comes to its drivers, performing worse than 97 percent of all passenger bus companies during the last 12 months and 99.7 percent worse in the last two years in the "Driver Fitness" category.
Sky Express also scored worse than 77.8 percent of all bus companies within the last year and 86.2 percent worse in the last 24 months in the "fatigued driver" category; and worse than 56 percent of bus companies within the last 12 months and 62.9 percent in the last 24 months in the "unsafe driving" category, the federal agency's records reveal.
The company, which had 53 drivers and 34 vehicles as of this month, had four crashes, one with injuries between July and January, the records show.
Tuesday's accident occurred about 4:55 a.m. EDT near the Carmel Church exit in Caroline County, about 30 miles north of Richmond, the Times-Dispatch reported.
The injured passengers were taken to a number of Richmond-area hospitals, except for the unidentified driver, who suffered only minor injuries, police said.
VCU Medical Center, a level-one trauma center, received nine patients, spokeswoman Malorie G. Burkett said.
"All are in stable condition. We tentatively may be receiving a couple more [from other hospitals]," she said.
The bus was towed away about 11:15 a.m. and two northbound lanes were reopened to traffic, the Richmond newspaper said. Southbound traffic was flowing without problems, it said.
Officials said the bus, operated by Sky Express Inc. of Charlotte, N.C., was headed to New York from Greensboro, N.C.
