Brakes were faulty in bus crash
DJ Slater
Issue date: 10/27/05 Section: Campus News
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Under these conditions, Lauren Peduzzi, a spokesperson for the NTSB, said the bus should not have been on the road because it violated the state's Department of Transportation regulations and raised safety issues.
"That would have been enough to place the bus out of service," Peduzzi said. "You never want a bus on the road (in those conditions)."
The NTSB also found the bus driver, Paul Rasmus, 78, of Chippewa Falls, was not wearing his eyeglasses during the crash, despite the requirement on his driver's license.
A semitrailer, owned by Whole Food Products of Munster, Ind., carrying cargo from Indiana to Minneapolis overturned onto the westbound lane of Interstate 94 just north of Osseo, blocking both lanes. The Chippewa Trails-owned bus crashed into the undercarriage of the semi at 2 a.m. after coming back from a state band competition at UW-Whitewater. The bus was headed to Chippewa Falls High School carrying 44 band members, staff and chaperones.
Those killed in the crash were UW-Eau Claire senior Branden Atherton, 24; Eau Claire alumnus and Chippewa Falls marching band director Douglas Greenhalgh, 48; his wife, Therese Greenhalgh, 51; the couple's granddaughter, Morgan Greenhalgh, 11; and Rasmus.
Even with these findings, however, Peduzzi said there still is not enough evidence to prove these factors could have prevented the crash.