Party bus owner, firm charged with multiple safety violations

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office Monday filed multiple criminal charges related to safety violations against the owner of a party bus company that was involved in the 2013 death of a man who fell from the vehicle.

Ayrapet Kasabyan, 42, and his company, Hyros Corp., were each charged with 12 criminal counts, City Atty. Mike Feuer said in a statement. The charges do not pertain to the death itself but to safety problems with the bus. Officials said that the party bus company repeatedly failed to maintain and keep its vehicles safe.

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FOR THE RECORD

An earlier version of this post and its headline indicated that Kasabyan and Hyros Corp. were charged in connection with death of the passenger. The charges pertain to alleged safety violations, not the death.

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“With the increased popularity of party buses, it is more important than ever that they comply with safety and maintenance laws,” Feuer said. “My office will take every step we can to assure these buses are safe, including filing cases like this.”

The filings come months after the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to file felony manslaughter charges after Christopher “C.J.” Saraceno II died.

During a birthday party celebration Sept. 29, Saraceno, 24, was standing by the bus’ passenger door, tuning the radio. The bus jerked, passengers reported, and Saraceno lost his balance and fell down the stairs.

Authorities said the door opened as the bus was traveling south on the 101 Freeway near Universal Studios Boulevard. Friends tried to grab Saraceno as he gripped the bottom step and a metal handle, but he fell to the asphalt and was struck by the bus’ rear tires and several cars.

According to a California Highway Patrol report, the door was equipped with a faulty air compressor and did not lock properly. Even though the bus had been ordered off the road for safety reasons, it had been used 51 times since the order to cease operation was issued, the report found.

The CHP recommended to county prosecutors that Kasabyan be charged with murder.

“Mr. Kasabyan continued to use this vehicle for profit ... exhibiting a malignant heart until the untimely death of the victim,” the CHP report said. “At no time, per Mr. Kasabyan’s own records, was there an attempt to properly fix this vehicle.”

Prosecutors said that because the order for the bus to stay out of service was unrelated to the defective door, they could not prove negligence on Kasabyan’s part.

Monday’s charges by the city attorney’s office are three counts of failure to comply with an out-of-service order; three counts of operating an out-of-service vehicle; three counts of failure to maintain a vehicle in safe condition; failure to maintain a vehicle door in safe condition; failure to maintain vehicle tires in safe condition; and failure to keep maintenance or inspection records.

Kasabyan faces a maximum sentence of four years and six months in jail and $9,000 in fines, plus penalty assessments.

The city attorney’s office also filed a violation against Hyros Corp. for another case in which the company is on probation for false advertising. The firm is facing $11,500 in fines, which includes an additional $2,500 fine for the probation violation.

Kasabyan and Hyros Corp. are expected to be arraigned Tuesday at the Metropolitan Courthouse.

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