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Homicide Charges Probably Won’t Be Filed in Fatal Texas Bus Crash

Posted on Aug 17, 2009

The bus driver involved in the fatal crash last year that killed 17 members of Houston’s Vietnamese community will most likely only be charged with nothing more than misdemeanor traffic violations.

Sherman police had originally been looking into charging the bus driver with negligent homicide in connection with the fatal bus accident. However, officials said that there is probably insufficient evidence to support the charge against Barrett Broussard.

The Texas bus accident occurred on August 8, 2008 when 53-year-old Broussard was driving 55 passengers to an annual event for Vietnamese Catholics in Missouri. One of the bus’s tires blew, which caused the bus to skid off a highway bridge. The tire had been retreaded and was on the right front axle, which was in violation of federal regulations.

The National Transportation Safety Board showed that the tire failed due to the fact that it was a retread. That is why Broussard could have been charged with negligent homicide, since he did not have the retread removed before the trip.

Broussard pleaded not guilty to two misdemeanor charges in Grayson County Justice of the Peace Court, which were filed not long after the accident. One of the charges was for driving a bus with a retread on the front axle and the other was for operating a vehicle that did not have the proper authority for interstate travel.