2 women killed in Greyhound bus crash ID'd

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KTVU and Wires) - Many questions remain into the investigation of the deadly Greyhound bus accident that occurred on Highway 101 in San Jose Tuesday morning.

Two women died and nine others were injured when a Greyhound bus overturned on U.S. Highway 101 near state Highway 85 in South San Jose Tuesday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The women killed in the crash have been identified as 51-year-old Fyle Olivera of San Francisco and 76-year-old Maria De Jesus Ortiz Velasquez of Salinas.

The crash was reported at 6:38 a.m. near the connector ramp between northbound Highway 101 and northbound Highway 85, CHP officials said.

There were about 19 people aboard the bus, along with the bus driver.
CHP put out a release on Tuesday, naming 58-year-old Gary Bonslater as the driver of the bus and that the bus was driving at an undetermined rate of speed. Alcohol and/or drugs are not suspected to be the cause of the wreck at this time.

There are claims by a passenger that the driver fell asleep at the wheel.

Investigators will be looking into that Wednesday.

Officials from the NTSB arrived to investigate at 3 a.m.

The NTSB and CHP will investigate to see if there were any mechanical problems with the bus.

Bonslater has admitted to investigators he was tired and had stopped in Gilroy to get coffee, but he didn't indicate that he fell asleep.

KTVU spoke with the president of the union who says that long hours and fatigue are a big problem with the industry, because drivers aren't covered by the Fair Labors Act, with mandated overtime pay. He says it forces many to work second jobs and not get enough sleep.

The Greyhound bus #86558 was coming from Los Angeles, and had stops planned in San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland. It had departed from Los Angeles at 11:30 p.m. Monday.

It was traveling in the northbound carpool lane when it overturned on its side, according to the CHP.

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene while the five were taken to a hospital immediately with life-threatening injuries, CHP officials said. Five others were taken to a hospital later.

Authorities say the bus driver was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. According to AP, a passenger on the bus said the driver seemed to be nodding off before the crash and that they could feel the bus weaving and the driver jerking the wheel. 

No other information about the crash was immediately available.