Last Updated on October 20, 2017 by CCAR Staff
A big-rig driver was arrested Thursday, Oct. 19, on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and reckless driving in the deaths of 13 people aboard a bus in a 2016 crash on the 10 Freeway near Palm Springs.
An investigation found that the driver violated various federal regulations related to drive-time limits and sleep breaks before the Oct. 23, 2016 collision, and falsified log records, a Riverside County District Attorney’s Office news release said.
The investigation revealed that Bruce Guilford, 51, of Georgia, had fallen asleep with the rig’s parking brakes set while traffic was stopped to allow Southern California Edison workers to pull wires across the highway.
California Highway Patrol officers had reopened the freeway’s westbound lanes, but Guliford’s rig remained stopped in the No. 3 lane.
The motor coach carrying casino patrons was traveling at 76 mph when it collided with the rear of the big rig, the CHP said.
However, according to the declaration written by CHP Officer Scott Parent to obtain an arrest warrant, the big-rig driver, Guilford, was “not the party determined to be most at fault.”
The declaration did not say which party was most at fault. The bus driver, Teodulo Elias Vides, died in the collision, as did 12 passengers.
“Falling asleep and blocking the #3 traffic lane for 1 minute and 18 seconds (would have been longer had the collision not occurred) of a four-lane interstate was a substantial factor in the death of 13 individuals,” Parent wrote.
Guilford had just completed a round trip from Alabama to Salinas, Parent wrote. By law, he should have had 34 consecutive hours off before his next trip. But on Oct. 19, 2016, Guilford began another round trip after only 24 hours off, Parent wrote.
The patrons were on their way back to the Los Angeles area from the Red Earth Casino in Thermal in the Coachella Valley on Oct. 23.
Related:
Oct. 24, 2016: 13 killed, 31 hurt when tour bus, truck crash on 10 Freeway near Palm Springs
Photos: At the scene of the crash
Oct. 24, 2016: Not the first fatal collision for bus in Palm Springs crash
Oct. 24, 2016: Photos: A memorial grows for victims of bus crash
Oct. 25, 2016: All victims killed in Palm Springs-area bus crash are identified
Oct. 25, 2016: Tire tread too thin on bus in fatal Palm Springs-area crash, NTSB says
Nov. 14, 2016: 4 people injured in Palm Springs bus crash sue estate of driver/owner
Jan. 3, 2017: NTSB releases preliminary report on Palm Springs-area bus crash
July 27, 2017: 3 who were hurt in Palm Springs tour bus crash that left 13 dead file lawsuit
Guliford was charged on Wednesday, Oct. 18, with 13 counts of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, 12 counts of felony reckless driving causing injury and 17 misdemeanor counts of reckless driving causing injury.
No arraignment has been scheduled. It’s unclear when he will be returned to Riverside County.
At least 29 other people aboard the coach were injured in the crash, the DA’s Office said.
Guliford was arrested about 7:50 p.m. Thursday in Georgia by the U.S. Marshal Southeast Regional Fugitive Task Force, which had been contacted by a similar team in the Pacific Southwest Region. A judge had issued a $500,000 arrest warrant.
The casino patrons were aboard a USA Holiday charter bus based in Alhambra.
