5 Students Among 10 Dead in Northern California Crash

At the Los Angeles Times, "Bus crash: What caused FedEx driver to veer, cause fiery collision?":

WILLOWS, Calif. -- Investigators combing through the wreckage of the fiery Northern California crash that killed 10 people, including five high school students, said they do not yet know what caused the driver of a FedEx truck to veer across a freeway median and hit the students' bus head-on.

California Highway Patrol Lt. Scott Fredrick said it remained unclear whether the FedEx driver – who officials said was among those killed – had fallen asleep, if his freight truck had some type of mechanical failure or if it was involved in separate collision that preceded the fiery crash.

Fredrick said CHP investigators were being assisted by the National Transportation Safety Board, which sent a team that arrived about 10 a.m. Friday. Investigators would use “sophisticated surveying and mapping equipment,” along with 3-D diagramming, to reconstruct what led up to the crash, he said.

Fredrick said investigators would also consider roadway and weather conditions at the time. But he and others cautioned it could take up to six months for the CHP to complete its report.

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