Details emerge in deadly Michigan-Arkansas bus crash

A bus ferrying migrant farm workers from Michigan to Texas ran off a highway and hit an overpass in Arkansas on Friday, ripping off the roof and ejecting passengers onto the interstate. Six people were killed and six injured; the driver survived.

Twenty-two people were on board, including the driver from Michigan, when the bus struck a concrete barrier then hit an overpass in North Little Rock around 1 a.m., police said.

Six others who were injured in the accident along Interstate-40 and were released from hospitals, said Arkansas State Police Col. Bill Bryant.

Roberto Vasquez, 28, of Monroe was driving the bus when it crashed, police said.

All drivers involved in fatal accidents are tested for drugs and alcohol in Arkansas, but there is no indication Vasquez was intoxicated, said Arkansas State Police Major Mike Foster. At the time of the accident, there was light rain.

The National Transportation Safety Board investigation is initially focusing on the possibility of driver fatigue, though investigators may focus on other issues once they’re on the scene, spokesman Eric Weiss said.

Three people on the bus, including the driver, were employees of Vasquez Citrus and Hauling, the company that owned the bus, and the other 19 were workers the company was transporting, police said during a news conference.

The owner of Continental Charters in Michigan told several news outlets he sold the bus involved in the crash last week.

A bill of sale dated Oct. 31, said “must remove lettering on bus before running bus.” But Continental was still displayed on the side of it at the time of the crash.

The 47-passenger bus left the roadway west of the I-40 and Highway 167 interchange and collided with the North Hills Boulevard overpass, police said. Accident reconstruction specialists were called to the scene and police said they will work with the National Transportation Safety Board on the investigation.

Three of the people killed were ejected from the bus, one was partially ejected and two remained in the bus, police said.

Neither the names nor hometowns of the deceased have been released. Officials are in the process of interviewing witnesses and contacting relatives.

Daniel Inquilla, an attorney with Farmworker Legal Services of Michigan, said his organization had contact a few times earlier this year with farm workers at Vasquez Citrus housing in Monroe. He said Vasquez has operated in the state since last year and provides workers to a farm.

Vasquez Citrus and Hauling of Lake Placid, Florida could not be reached for comment.

Troopers, federal authorities and the Mexican Consulate are working to make next of kin notifications.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to these families who lost their loved ones,” Bryant said.

Contact: Elisha Anderson: eanderson@freepress.com or 313-222-5144