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PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (AP) — The Latest on the aftermath of a fatal bus crash in Southern California that killed 13 and injured 31 (all times local):
1:35 p.m.
A National Transportation Safety Board member says the bus involved in a deadly crash with a big-rig near Palm Springs during the weekend was out of compliance with rules governing the depth of tire tread.
Board member Earl Weener said Tuesday that the tread on the two front tires and two of the four tires on the drive axle were below minimums, while the two tires on the rear-most axle were above minimum.
Weener says the bus could have been taken out of service under rules for commercial vehicles.
Weener, however, did not say whether the tread issue was a factor in the crash, which killed 13 people and injured 31 others.
A California Highway Patrol has said there was no apparent evidence that the bus braked before slamming into the rear of a slow-moving tractor-trailer on Interstate 10.
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11:30 a.m.
A woman who knew the owner of a gambling tour bus that slammed into truck, killing 13 people, says he liked to joke with customers and playfully urged to save enough money for hamburgers.
Alba Martinez said Tuesday that owner and driver Teodulo Elias Vides told customers after they returned to Los Angeles at sunrise from their weekend jaunts, "We've arrived at reality."
Martinez's friend, Dora Galvez de Rodriguez, died in the crash. Vides also died.
Inspection records kept by the California Highway Patrol show that Vides' company, USA Holiday, was deemed unsatisfactory in the past in several categories but that the company had not received that rating since 2010.
That year, an unnamed driver received unsatisfactory ratings.
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