UPDATE AS OF 5:01 PM NOVEMBER 6, 2015
IDENTIFICATION MADE OF SURVIVORS
ONBOARD CHARTER BUS CRASH
November 6, 2015
Arkansas State Troopers are continuing their investigation of a pre-dawn crash involving a charter bus traveling westbound along Interstate 40 through North Little Rock. The crash claimed the lives of six individuals. (Previous news releases with background information are copied below).
Six other individuals sustained minor injuries. They were transported to Little Rock hospitals and subsequently released.
The names of those who were killed are being withheld until all families have been notified of the deaths.
The names of the survivors onboard the bus are listed below:
- Roberto Vasquez, 28, of Arcadia Florida (Driver)
- Mercio Reyes, 20 of Texcapa, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Eleazar Cruz, 23, of Texcapa, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Santos Reyes, 35, of Texcapa, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Norberto Alvarez, 29, of Texcapa, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Israel Galindo, 32, of Tehuacán, Puebla, Mexico
- Samuel Cabriales, 43, of Galeana, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
- Cristina Arzola, 23, of Huajuapan de León, Oaxaca, Mexico
- Rodolfo Meza Sr., 43, of Lake Placid, Florida
- Rodolfo Meza Jr., 20, of Lake Placid, Florida
- Francisco Ponciano, 23, of Tepehuacán de Guerrero, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Miguel Angel Tecuaque, 20, of Tezonapa, Veracruz, Mexico
- Margarito Hernandez, 24, of Tezonapa, Veracruz, Mexico
- Alejandro Marcos, 19, of Tecapa, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Mooises Luis-Velasquez, 21, of Tepehuacán de Guerrero, Hidalgo, Mexico
- Julio Cesar (age and city of residence unknown)
UPDATES:
ARKANSAS STATE POLICE AND FEDERAL AUTHORITIES CONTINUING INVESTIGATION OF FATAL BUS CRASH
NOVEMBER 6, 2015
The Arkansas State Police is continuing its investigation today of an overnight bus crash that claimed the lives of six individuals (see initial news release copied below).
The bus was traveling from Monroe, Michigan to Laredo, Texas. The vehicle is owned by Vasquez Citrus and Hauling Company of Lake Placid, Florida.
The forty-seven passenger bus was carrying twenty-two individuals, among them one driver.
State Troopers have confirmed that six individuals onboard the bus died in the crash. Six individuals were transported from the scene to local hospitals with minor injuries. None have been hospitalized.
The driver of the bus has been identified as Roberto Vasquez, 28, of Monroe, Michigan. The driver agreed to be tested for intoxicants as prescribed by Arkansas law.
The Arkansas State Police will be working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Highway Motor Carriers and the Arkansas Highway Transportation Department, Highway Police.
State Troopers are working with federal authorities and the Mexican Consulate to make notification of the deaths to next of kin who may be out of country.
UPDATES:
PRESS CONFERENCE SCHEDULED:
CHARTER BUS FATALITY CRASH UPDATE
Updated information relating to the early morning crash of a charter bus along Interstate 40 in North Little Rock will be provided during a State Police press conference this morning.
The press conference has been scheduled for 9:30 AM (Friday, November 6th) in the Director’s Executive Conference Room at State Police Headquarters, One State Police Plaza Drive, Little Rock.
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November 6, 2015 (3 AM)
Initial reports from Arkansas State Troopers say there are as many as six deaths in an early morning charter bus collision along Interstate 40 in North Little Rock at the North Hills Boulevard overpass. Multiple individuals who sustained injuries have also been transported from the scene by ambulance.
The single vehicle crash was reported to state troopers about 1 AM today (Friday, November 6th). The charter bus was traveling westbound.
The bus left the roadway west of the I-40 and U.S. Highway 167 interchange and collided with an abutment of the North Hills overpass.
Westbound I-40 traffic near the crash scene was initially diverted through North Little Rock to the north interchange of Interstates 30 and 40. By 3 AM, one westbound lane through the crash scene area had been opened to traffic.