Driver incapacitation due to a medical emergency; failure of the bus company to monitor the driver's known medical conditions; impairment from ingestion of marijuana and diphenhydramine
The Mother's Day bus crash, also known as the Interstate 610 bus crash, occurred on May 9, 1999, on Interstate 610 (I-610) in New Orleans, Louisiana, when a charter bus veered off the roadway and collided with a dirt embankment. Of the 44 people on the bus (including the driver), there were 22 fatalities in the crash.
The bus was driven by Frank Bedell, a 46-year-old driver for Custom Bus Charters.[2] Prior to being hired by Custom Bus Charters, Bedell had previously been terminated from two different bus-driving positions in the past decade after testing positive for marijuana on company drug screens.[3] Bedell suffered from several chronic conditions, including kidney disease and congestive heart failure.[4] On the night before the crash, he was treated at West Jefferson Medical Center for nausea and weakness, where he was administered intravenous fluids and discharged at approximately 11:00 p.m.[5]
Incident
On the morning of May 9, 1999, Bedell reported for duty at 6:30 a.m. and conducted a pre-trip inspection of the charter bus. He departed for LaPlace at 7:00 a.m. to pick up the passengers, arriving at 8:00 a.m. According to his log, he remained on duty but in a non-driving status for thirty minutes before departing for the casino at 8:30 a.m.[6]
At 9:00 a.m. (CDT), Bedell was traveling east on I-610 in New Orleans, Louisiana, when the charter bus approached milepost 1.6, it left the right side of the highway, crossed the shoulder, and entered the grassy slope alongside the roadway. The bus continued along the slope and struck the end of a guardrail, then passed through a chain-link fence and vaulted over a paved golf cart path. It then collided with the far side of a dirt embankment before bouncing and sliding forward, coming to rest in an upright position.[7] Bedell told police that he swerved the bus to avoid a car that he believed was about to move into his lane, but investigators were unable to verify the involvement of another vehicle in causing the crash.[8] Toxicology tests confirmed the presence of marijuana and the sedating antihistamine diphenhydramine in Bedell's blood at the time of the crash.[6]
A witness driving behind the bus reported seeing it drift from the left lane into the center lane, nearly striking a smaller vehicle. According to this witness, the bus returned to the left lane before drifting again across the highway toward the right shoulder. A second witness, observing from a higher section of the highway, noted that the bus then turned at an angle of approximately 60 degrees, crossing the remaining lanes without appearing to brake. The bus struck the guardrail and a dirt embankment, becoming briefly airborne before coming to rest against a chain-link fence. Both witnesses corroborated that no other vehicles were in the bus's direct path at the time it departed the roadway.[9]
Victims
In total, 22 passengers were killed. Nineteen died at the scene, while three died at the hospital. The bus driver and 15 passengers sustained serious injuries, and six passengers received minor injuries.[9] The deceased ranged in age from 45 to 92 years old.[10]
Nine of the fatally injured passengers and the driver, who survived, were ejected from the bus during the crash. All ten individuals who were ejected were found on the grass at or near the front of the bus.[11]
Investigation
The National Transportation Safety Board responded, conducted an investigation and issued a report on August 28, 2001.[12] The NTSB determined that "the probable cause of this accident was the driver's incapacitation due to his severe medical conditions and the failure of the medical certification process to detect and remove the driver from service. Other factors that may have had a role in the accident were the driver's fatigue and the driver's use of marijuana and a sedating antihistamine."[7]
Investigators found that the driver's seat was the only position equipped with a seat belt, as required by federal regulations, and determined from his injuries and position following the crash that he was not wearing it at the time of the accident. The charter bus did not have seat belts for passengers, a factor investigators noted as contributing to the severity of injuries.[12]
Aftermath
The driver, Frank Bedell, who had a history of high blood pressure and congestive heart failure,[5] died three months after the accident, in August 1999, from a heart attack.[13]
In media
A documentary titled Mother's Day Bus Crash on 610 was made by New Orleans filmmaker Royd Anderson. It focuses on the crash, its impact on victims’ families, and firsthand recollections of the event. It debuted in 2019 and examines the tragedy through interviews with eyewitnesses, survivors’ relatives, firefighters, and lawyers involved in the aftermath.[14]
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