Federal Officials Cite "Grossly Deficient Vehicle Maintenance," Shut Down Company Involved In Texas Bus Crash

Sherman, TX (AHN) - Federal officials have ordered a shut-down of the companies that operated the bus that crashed in Texas on Friday killing 17.

Officials found that "grossly deficient vehicle maintenance" contributed to Friday's crash of a charter bus carrying Vietnamese Catholics traveling back home to Texas from a pilgrimage in Missouri.

Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration officials ordered Angel Tours, Inc., and Iguana Busmex, Inc., and their chief, Angel De La Torre to cease operations immediately saying they posed an "imminent hazard" because the buses were mechanically unsafe.

Officials had already ordered Angel Tours to cease operations in June, but say that De LaTorre continued running his fleet of buses under a new name, Iguana.

Authorities said that the driver of the bus had been cited three times since 2001, once for driving while intoxicated and twice for speeding. In addition, his bus had twice failed roadside inspections in 2007 and been taken out of service for logbook violations.