
Earlier this week we reported on a fatal bus crash on Interstate 10 in St. John Parish, Louisiana. The bus struck a fire truck and a pickup and knocked several people over a bridge, killing two. It was later discovered that the driver of the bus was a 37-year-old undocumented immigrant from Honduras who didn’t have a driver’s license.
What wasn’t known, however, is who hired him and allowed him to drive without a license. The bus company failed to answer any requests for information after the crash. More details have recently surfaced, linking the crash to two elected officials.
The bus was owned by Louisiana-based Kristina’s Transportation, which rented the bus to WRS — a construction company from Arkansas.
One of WRS’s owners is listed as Eddie Schmidt, the elected 4th Ward constable for the St. Tammany Parish in Louisiana. Schmidt could not be reached for comment because he was on vacation when the accident occurred.
The other owner is Republican state Rep. David Wallace of Leachville, Arkansas, who is currently running for state senate.
According to WWL-TV, the construction company owned by the two elected officials was transporting nearly 30 laborers to a commercial construction site in Baton Rouge.
State Rep. Wallace commented on the tragic incident, stating that his company did not know that the workers were illegal immigrants and would not have hired them if he had known.
Other reports however, indicated that the bus driver, 37-year-old Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez was cited at least four times in the last five years for driving without a license and had been working for the lawmaker-owned construction company for several years.
Wallace refused to comment further on the incident.