Last Updated on January 11, 2023 by CCAR Staff
SAN BERNARDINO >> A trial may happen next month for the bus driver charged in the 2013 tour bus collision in Yucaipa that killed eight people and wounded many more.
Norberto Bravo Perez appeared Friday in San Bernardino Superior Court for a hearing to determine whether both sides are ready to go to trial in February, according the court’s website.
However, the prosecutor in the case, Cary Epstein, told the court he was still in trial on an unrelated case for the next two weeks, but he still confirmed the future dates for Perez’s case.
Perez, 55, is set to return to court Friday to determine whether both sides will be ready to start trial three days later.
A CHP report of the crash states passengers of the bus told investigators it had lost its braking capability about 6:30 p.m. on Feb. 3, 2013. The tour bus was owned by the National City-based company Scapadas Magicas.
Perez, an employee at Scapadas Magicas, was ferrying Mexican nationals back to Tijuana after a trip to Big Bear Lake when the crash occurred.
As the bus descended Highway 38 toward Yucaipa, the brakes failed and the bus careened down the mountain. It struck a 2007 Saturn then overturned when Perez failed to negotiate a curve in the road, according to the CHP report.
As the bus slid on its side down the highway, it also struck a dirt embankment, then collided with a Ford F-150 pickup hauling a box trailer. Several people were ejected from the bus. Seven passengers were killed as well as a man driving the pickup, Fred Baily Richardson.
Perez and 30 of the remaining 31 passengers suffered minor to major injuries, according to the CHP report.
Perez was later charged with eight counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, and he pleaded not guilty to the charges at arraignment.
Perez remains behind bars with bail set at $1 million and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, if convicted.
