National Transportation Safety Board
Highway Accident Report

PB84-916206
NTSB/HAR-84/06 (a 32-page report)
Report date: September 5, 1984

Activity bus/tractor-cargo tank semitrailer collision on State Route 61 near Devers, Texas, December 23, 1983

SYNOPSIS

   About 7:40 p.m., central standard time, on December 23, 1983, a southbound activity bus (bus) suddenly veered leftward, crossed the centerline of State Route 61, a 2-lane, 2-way highway, and struck head on a northbound tractor cargo tank semitrailer near Devers, Texas. The tractor cargo tank semitrailer penetrated from 5.5 to 6.5 feet into the passenger compartment of the 1970 former school bus. The bus driver and all 21 passengers aboard were ejected through the front opening created in the collision. The truck driver, the bus driver, and eight bus passengers were killed. Thirteen other bus passengers were injured.
   The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the loss of control of the activity bus following the deflation and subsequent blowout of the left front tire due to a nail puncture. Contributing to the severity of the injuries was the less rigid construction of the 1970 former school bus when compared to school buses built after April 1977 which meet minimum Federal requirements for crashworthiness and occupant protection.