The National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary report April 25 confirming the sequence of events in the fatal crash involving a FedEx Freight truck and a bus in Orland, Calif., earlier this month.
The initial findings of the accident that killed 10 people determined that the driver of the FedEx Freight truck was traveling south in the right lane of Interstate 5 on April 10 before it moved left and entered the 58-foot-wide center median.
The truck then drove through bushes in the center of the median and entered the northbound lanes of I-5, where it collided with a 2013 Nissan Altima before striking a bus carrying 43 high school students and three chaperones on their way to visit Humboldt State University.
The report said a fire ensued soon after the crash, partially burning the bus. Both drivers, as well as five high school students and three adults on the bus, were killed. Other bus passengers were injured; the occupants of the Nissan sustained minor injuries.
The combination vehicle truck, which was pulling a double-trailer, had departed FedEx’s facility in Sacramento at about 10 a.m. and drove to Weeds, Calif., where the driver delivered two trailers.
At about 3:30 p.m., the driver picked up two other 28-foot trailers and was en route back to Sacramento when the accident occurred. The bus departed from Los Angeles and, according to the report, made a scheduled stop in Sacramento, where a replacement driver took over.
Click here to see the NTSB preliminary report. (PDF, via NTSB website)
