Accident Report Detail

​On Saturday, May 14, 2016, shortly before 11:24 a.m., central daylight time, a 1998 Van Hool 49-passenger motorcoach, operated by OGA Charters LLC of San Juan, Texas, was traveling northbound on US Highway 83 near Laredo, Texas. The motorcoach entered a horizontal curve to the right, and, as itmoved through the curve, it drifted from its lane to the left. After the motorcoach drifted left, the driver steered to the right and applied the brakes, which resulted in the vehicle’s loss of control, so that it slid and yawed clockwise. The motorcoach departed the right, or east, side of the highway and, after entering the earthen right-of-way, overturned onto its left side. Nine passengers died, 36 passengers experienced minor-to-serious injuries, and the motorcoach driver and trip coordinator were treated for minor injuries. The injury severity for five passengers could not be determined.

​The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the Laredo, Texas, crash was the driver’s failure to maintain the motorcoach fully within the northbound travel lane, due to a combination of fatigue from an acute sleep deficit and blurred distance vision due to hyperglycemia resulting from poorly controlled diabetes; then, as the motorcoach drifted left from the travel lane, the driver abruptly steered to the right and braked, causing the vehicle to leave the highway and roll over. Contributing to the driver’s inability to regain control of the motorcoach was the low friction value of the wet pavement and the inoperable antilock braking system. Contributing to the severity of the passenger injuries was the failure of the left side passenger windows to keep passengers within the motorcoach.