Police: Car in school bus crash had faulty steering

Story Highlights

• Investigators don't think teen in car linked to bus crash was driving erratically
• Celica apparently had faulty steering, police say
• Police don't think alcohol or drugs a factor for car or bus driver
• Crash November 20 killed 4 students when school bus plunged off overpass

From Rusty Dornin
CNN

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HUNTSVILLE, Alabama (CNN) -- A preliminary investigation into last week's fatal school bus crash indicates that a "faulty steering mechanism" on a passing car caused the accident, a police spokesman said Tuesday.

Wendell Johnson said the problem is believed to have caused the teen driver of the 1990 Toyota Celica to lose control of his car and veer into the bus, which dragged along the concrete barrier on the Interstate 565 ramp before plunging 30 feet off the overpass.

Four teenage girls, all high school students, were killed.

Investigators do not believe there was any deliberate erratic driving on the part of the 17-year-old Celica driver, Johnson said.

National Transportation Safety Board investigators will return to Huntsville in three weeks to inspect the Celica for mechanical failure, a spokesman said.

Toxicology reports on both drivers are pending, but investigators do not believe alcohol or drugs was a factor, Johnson said.

Once the investigation is complete, the findings will automatically be referred to a grand jury to determine if any criminal charges will be filed, as required by Alabama law when minors are killed.

It could take up to a year for the NTSB to complete its investigation into what caused the accident.

Johnson also said that investigators believe the bus driver was not wearing a seat belt, and was ejected from the bus before it went over the overpass. He is still in the hospital, as is one student.

The bus was carrying 40 Lee High School students to a technology center for classes on November 20 when the accident happened.

Like nearly all school buses, it was not equipped with passenger seat belts or air bags. (Watch portable bus seat belt inspired by another bus crash )