The Associated Press

Tue, Oct 7, 2008 (6:03 p.m.)

The bus that crashed and killed eight people on a Northern California road was driven by a man who wasn't properly licensed and owned by another man who had claimed to be the vehicle's only driver, state officials said Tuesday.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating whether the bus that crashed Sunday north of Sacramento was inspected annually, as required by law. They also are looking at whether drugs or alcohol were a factor.

The bus driver, 52-year-old Quintin Watts, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Monday while he was still hospitalized for his injuries. Watts didn't have the proper license to carry more than 10 passengers, said Mike Marando, a DMV spokesman.

"He wasn't authorized to drive a bus in the state of California," Marando explained. "It is the responsibility of the bus company owner to make sure the driver is properly licensed, and that was not the case here."

Patrol officers believe the bus owner was Daniel Cobb, 68, who died in the crash. State public records show that Cobb was insured and had a valid permit from the Public Utilities Commission to operate a bus service.

Under the permit, however, Cobb listed only himself and not Watts as the sole driver of the single bus he had registered with the commission, agency officials said.

"Mr. Cobb certified under penalty of perjury that he had no employees and was therefore not required to maintain workers' compensation insurance," said Paul Wuerstle, the commission's head of transportation enforcement.

A witness said the bus carrying 42 passengers to Colusa Casino Resort drifted off a rural two-lane road before the driver "overcorrected" and swerved back. It overturned and rolled completely over, ending up on its wheels facing the opposite direction. About 30 people were injured. Many of the passengers were Laotian seniors.

The bus had an invalid license plate, the CHP said.

Watts' family issued a statement through Woodland Hospital, where he is recovering from injuries in the crash.

"We would like to share our condolences to those who have lost their loved ones and also let everyone know we are praying for those who are still in the hospital," the statement said.

Watts' adoptive parents said they were told by friends and family members that Cobb was Watts' stepfather. Cobb had been married to Watts' biological mother before she died about 10 years ago, said Cleval Watts, who adopted Quintin Watts when he was 6 months old.

He added that Quintin Watts was diabetic and taking insulin.

Passengers who survived the crash tell social workers that the bus driver appeared to have dozed off and passengers tried to warn him before the vehicle rolled off the road and tumbled into a drainage ditch.

"The bus driver was sleepy and the bus swung to the left and right side. And they were yelling at him on the third swing when it turned over," said Theresa Saechao of Lao Family Community Development of Sacramento.

Safety advocates and bus industry experts said Tuesday tour bus companies that transport gamblers to casinos don't always follow government regulations designed to assure passenger safety.

"Some of these rogue operations literally do pickups in alleys where they are trying to keep out of the sight of federal and state authorities," said Eron Shosteck, spokesman at the American Bus Association, a Washington, D.C.,-based group that represents about 1,000 motorcoach and tour companies in the U.S. and Canada.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration regulates buses that cross state lines, but tour buses that operate in only one state such as Cobbs Bus Service are a state responsibility.

All commercial buses that travel within California undergo annual inspections by the highway patrol, but in cases where companies don't have bus terminals, CHP spokesman Scott Johnson said, "we don't go. If there's no terminal they don't respond."

A bus terminal couldn't be located for Cobbs Bus Service, which listed a Modesto church and a residence in Sacramento as its headquarters.

Still, the highway patrol told the Public Utilities Commission in October 2007 that Cobb's operation had passed all necessary inspections and that his permit could be renewed for another three years, Wuerstle said.

Cobb had a permit to operate a bus service in the state since 1974 and had no indications on his record of any past safety violations, Wuerstle said. The commission is not automatically notified if a bus driver has been in an accident, he said.

Records show Watts, of Stockton, had been cited for speeding and other violations that resulted in loss of his license for nearly two years. He regained his driving privileges last January.

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Associated Press Writer Marcus Wohlsen in San Francisco and Judy Lin in Sacramento contributed to this report.