GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – Online records appear to show that the charter bus involved in a crash in Green Bay on Sunday hadn’t had a documented roadside inspection in at least two years.
Ghebry Figueroa, the owner of Lucky Charters and Tours LLC, faces two felony counts of knowingly operating a motor vehicle while revoked, causing great bodily harm, for his involvement in the crash. Green Bay police tell Local 5 News the crash injured over 40 passengers.
According to online records, Lucky Charters and Tours LLC is based in Wheeling, Ill. which is a suburb of Chicago. According to the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, buses that bring passengers across state lines are subject to required annual and semi-annual inspections.
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Lucky Charters and Tours, LLC is registered for just intrastate travel even though it was on its way to Michigan from Illinois before it crashed on Sunday. Per the Illinois Secretary of State’s office, intrastate vehicles still require annual inspections.
“They’re going through and making sure your registration is all intact, your license is intact, they’ll check your brakes that it passes the brake test and they’re in proper working condition,” Fox Valley Technical College instructor Paul Hedsand said when asked what a roadside inspection entails.
Hedsand said these roadside inspections are extremely important. He also said drivers need to do their own thorough inspection of their vehicle before they hit the road, do a walk-around inspection of the vehicle before returning to the road after stopping, and a post-trip inspection as well.
“Steering, tires, brakes, frame, everything possible to make sure it’s roadworthy,” Hedsand told Local 5 News. “If this thing is not roadworthy, one, it’s not safe, second off, it’s going to break down, and I’m not going to be making any money.”
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Green Bay police continue to investigate the cause of the crash. According to a criminal complaint, Figueroa told police that his brakes failed and that’s why he crashed the bus. He didn’t have a valid driver’s license or the required insurance for his bus at the time of the crash.
Figueroa posted his $5,000 bond on Tuesday afternoon shortly after his court appearance.
