As evidence continues to be gathered after a fatal bus crash left seven dead and dozens injured east of Vicksburg on Saturday, investigators say it might be a while before answers are available.
Todd Inman, a member of the National Transportation Safety Board, laid out the timeline of the investigation during a press conference in Jackson. The NTSB sent a team from Washington, D.C. to investigate the deadly crash.
“We anticipate issuing a preliminary report within the next 30 days and the final report will come out in 12 to 24 months,” Inman said. “However, if there is an urgent safety recommendation that we find at any point during this investigation, we will not hesitate to release that information and to make an urgent recommendation.”
The commercial passenger bus operated by Mexico-based Autobuses Regiomontanos was heading from Atlanta to Dallas when it experienced a tire failure and flipped off Interstate 20 in Bovina around 12:30 a.m. Among those dead in the single-vehicle crash were siblings who were 6 and 16 years old. 37 passengers were transported to hospitals in Vicksburg and Jackson.
Inman explained what the NTSB will be looking at throughout the investigation.
“We’re going to be looking at probably three or four different factors specifically in this crash, primarily safety issues that we look at as we do in any other crash,” he said. “They’re going to be motor carrier safety itself, a Mexican carrier operating in the United States, tire maintenance, and occupant protection.”
While names of victims have not been made public, the Mississippi Highway Patrol confirmed to CNN that “several Mexican identification documents” were found on the bus. It is still unclear if the bus was full of tourists from Mexico or if any U.S. citizens were on board.
Three females and four males, in total, were killed in the single-vehicle crash.
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