Fatal Bus Crash Came Days After Regulators Put Off Shutdown Of Bus Company

After a fatal bus crash [1] Tuesday in Virginia—at least the fourth such commercial bus accident in three months—federal regulators immediately issued an order to shut down the company that was responsible [2]. Four people died in the accident and more than 50 were sent to the hospital. But as it turns out, regulators had just days earlier passed up a chance to take the Sky Express bus company off the roads.

According to report in USA Today, five days before the fatal bus accident in Virginia on Tuesday, the Transportation Department’s Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration made a crucial decision: It could have ordered a shutdown of Sky Express based on the company's history of accidents and driving violations, but instead chose to put it off [3].

After yesterday's crash, regulators shut down the company [2] on the same day—an action that was possible because the agency had proposed shutting the company down back in April after reviewing the company’s safety record. Under agency rules [4], the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration can’t shut down bus companies immediately, a Transportation Department spokeswoman explained to USA Today:

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