A bus driver, carrying a group of flood rescue volunteers, slammed into a fire truck, killing two people.
It happened Sunday morning on I-10 just west of New Orleans. A fire truck was parked in the right lane of I-10, blocking traffic while police investigated an earlier crash wherein a pickup truck crashed into guardrails.
The bus struck the fire truck, then collided with a car and pickup truck before coming to a stop.
Three firefighters who were standing nearby were sent flying over a guardrail, landing in the water below.
The bus driver suffered minor injuries. According to ABC News, 21-year old Jermaine Starr and St. John Baptist Parish District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin were killed. Two firefighters, 24 bus passengers, and 9 people in the other vehicles were injured.
It was soon discovered that the bus driver, 37-year-old Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez was an illegal immigrant from Honduras with no driver’s license.
He was an employee of a bus company that goes by two names: AM Party Bus and Kristina’s Transportation LLC. The company could not be reached for media comment.
Rodriguez faces charges of two counts of negligent homicide, having no driver’s license and reckless driving. Additional charges are expected.
The incident remains under investigation.