(AP) — Federal investigators said Sunday that they haven't found physical evidence confirming a witness' claim that a FedEx truck was on fire before it slammed into a bus carrying high school students, killing 10 people in Northern California. National Transportation Safety Board member Mark Rosekind said that investigators are not ruling out a pre-impact fire, but a fire expert did not find evidence of flames as the truck crossed a median, sideswiped a Nissan Altima and crashed into the bus. The bus was gutted and the truck was a mangled mess after an explosion sent flames towering and black smoke billowing, making it difficult for investigators to track the source of the fire. "In the absence of a flight attendant, the likelihood of anyone on a bus buckling is slim," said Larry Hanley, president of Amalgamated Transit Union representing bus drivers and advocating for policies reducing driver fatigue. The transportation board has also called for measures to detect and suppress fires and make buses less vulnerable to blazes after a 2005 bus fire killed 23 nursing home evacuees escaping Hurricane Rita in Texas. The systems, akin to a hand-held extinguisher automatically dousing the first embers and sparks, aren't suited for massive blazes following collisions, said Joey Peoples, a vehicle fire safety expert for SP Fire Research.
Reported by SeattlePI.com 8 hours ago.
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