Tour Bus Driver May Be Tried
The California Highway Patrol today blamed excessive speed for the Walker River bus crash that killed 21 elderly people from a Santa Monica rest home and recommended prosecution of the driver on felony manslaughter charges.
Leonard De Groff, the CHP’s Valley Division commander, said driver Ernst Klimeck, 47, was traveling 66 m.p.h. when the bus entered a curve just before the May 30 accident. The speed limit on that stretch of U.S. 395 in Mono County is 55. De Groff said the Starline Sightseeing Tour bus ran off the road, swerved back, avoided collision with another vehicle, hit a fence and rolled into the Walker River, near Walker, Calif., about 90 miles south of Reno.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
