Rochester bus line’s safety scrutinized

AUSTIN, MINN. - Federal inspectors ordered the company that operated the motor coach in Wednesday's fatal crash to remove buses from service three times in the past year and a half for safety violations, and the company is under extra scrutiny because of its safety rating, federal records say.

One of Bold Lines' four buses was taken out of service twice this year after roadside inspections. The most recent, in October, found defective lighting and windshield wipers, brakes that were out of adjustment and a frame that was "cracked/loose/sagging/broken."

The 20-year-old bus that veered across an Interstate 90 median and rolled while returning from a casino Wednesday, killing two passengers and injuring 19 plus the driver, was taken out of service in August 2008 for having "no or defective emergency exits." Buses are permitted to return to service once violations are fixed.

The cause of the crash, which happened 2 miles west of Austin, won't be determined for weeks, Capt. Matt Langer of the State Patrol said Thursday. He said he couldn't confirm reports that driver Edwin Erickson, 52, of Elgin, suffered an aneurysm and slumped at the wheel. Langer said investigators had interviewed the hospitalized Erickson, but Langer declined to say what he told them.

Company spokesman Steve Burt said Thursday that employees of the Rochester bus company were still collecting facts while dealing with insurance companies and waiting to hear more on Erickson's condition.

"We're hearing that some kind of blood vessel burst, and he just kind of lost consciousness," Burt said. "We don't know all the details." Erickson was at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, but no condition was listed.

Killed were Pamela S. Holmquist, 56, of Kasson, and Rhonda R. Hill, 52, of Plainview, according to the patrol. Among 10 passengers who remained hospitalized Thursday, two -- 87-year-old Prem Deep and 80-year-old Helen Eubank, both of Rochester -- were in critical condition, while the rest were faring better. Eight passengers were treated at various hospitals and released, and one passenger, David Prigge, 76, of Byron, was not injured, the patrol reported.

"The two youngest people on the bus died, of all the older people that survived -- can you believe it?" said Carol Bredeson, a friend of victim Hill and manager of the Plainview apartment complex where she lived.

Bredeson said that Hill called her Tuesday night, announced 'I got the Christmas tree up,' and declared, 'Now I get to go gambling.'

"She was funny; she was caring," Bredeson said, alternating between laughter and tears as she told stories about Hill, a divorced mother of an 18-year-old son, Levi. "She cared about your family, she cared about you and she loved to gamble."

Pat Bulaga, who lived near Holmquist's well-kept modular home in Kasson, called her late neighbor "just a peach, so good-hearted." Holmquist's 82-year-old mother, Betty Holmquist of Kasson, was on the bus with her but survived with injuries that were not life-threatening.

Company under scrutiny

During the past 30 months, buses in Bold's fleet have undergone five roadside inspections, three of which resulted in out-of-service orders. The company got a satisfactory rating -- the highest rating -- in a compliance check in May, but its overall safety score means the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) is keeping a closer eye on the company.

By comparison, federal statistics for Lorenz Bus Company, which bills itself as the largest charter operator in Minnesota, show that it has 79 buses and went through 141 federal inspections over the same period. None of those inspections resulted in a bus being taken out of service.

The FMCSA website also shows that Bold settled at least three enforcement cases in the past decade, paying settlements totaling $22,380 in 2001 and 2002. Those cases were related to drug testing of drivers, driver logs and work hours, and failure to take corrective action after a vehicle inspection.

Dalmer Strain, owner of Bold Lines, has said the bus that crashed was headed back from the casino in Northwood, Iowa. Strain could not be reached for comment late Thursday regarding the company's safety record.

The patrol identified the other injured passengers as Richard D. Cooper, 83, of Rochester; Mary L. Kesler, 74, of Rochester; Joyce B. Sievert, 76, of Kasson; Helen M. Wilde, 66, of Byron; Ardell M. Swenson, 71, of Austin;

Adele A. Larson, 85, of Rochester; Janice M. Murphy, 72, of Rochester; James H. Wilde, 66, of Byron; Russell F. Denzer, 57, of Mohave Valley, Ariz.; Maurice A. Greene, 72, of Rochester; Alice M. Greene, 72, of Rochester; Earl W. Kesler, 73, of Rochester; Beverly Cooper, 78, of Rochester; Virginia R. Markham, 75, of Mantorville; Leon A. Markham, 78, of Mantorville, and Betty Prigge, 77, of Byron.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.