NTSB Investigation Reveals Bus Driver Was Stoned In Deadly Crash
Operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be not only dangerous, but also deadly.
CBS Local in Dallas reports that investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) have determined that the use of marijuana and a sedative by a motorist who was involved in a deadly crash that killed 13 people in March of 2017 was to blame.
Toxicology reports indicate that Jack Dillon Young had been under the influence of both drugs and was driving erratically on a stretch of U.S. Highway 83 when he crashed into a bus carrying members of the congregation of First Baptist Church of New Braunfels.
The NTSB also determined that had those aboard the bus been wearing lap-and-shoulder style seatbelts, and more lives may have been saved. The only seats on the bus equipped with seatbelts were those in the back of the bus.
The federal agency also recommended that the state of Texas undertake to train all law enforcement officers to be able to better recognize drug-impaired drivers. NTSB officials additionally recommend that better roadside testing tools be made available to law enforcement officers.
In May of this year, Young pleaded no contest to 13 counts of intoxication manslaughter and intoxication assault. This will likely send him to prison for the rest of his life as each count carries up to a 20-year sentence. He is scheduled to be sentenced at some time in the next month.
