BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - Autopsy results on a bus driver who died while taking a high school band from Florida to Texas may help show why the vehicle careened wildly across a highway before plunging down a steep embankment, police said Wednesday.
The driver, 65-year-old Harry Caligone, was the only person killed in the crash, and a medical examiner’s report could reveal whether he had a health problem that could be a factor in the crash, said Capt. John Malone of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
About three dozen people went to hospitals after the accident, and nine remained hospitalized Wednesday.
The bus, carrying 46 students and adults from Disney World to Channelview High School in suburban Houston, unexpectedly left the westbound lane of Interstate 10 before dawn Tuesday.
Malone said the bus veered across the median into the eastbound lane before shooting back into the grass median and driving off the ravine.
“It actually hit the guard rail on the eastbound side and was directed back into the median,” he said.
There were no signs of skid marks, Malone said, indicating the driver didn’t apply the brakes in a hurry.
“It just rolled,” Malone said.
The National Transportation Safety Board said the bus was new and making only its second trip.
