80-Year-Old Bus Driver Dies of Crash Injuries

The 80-year-old driver of a bus that was carrying a class of fifth-graders has died of injuries suffered when the vehicle rear-ended a truck carrying strawberries on a rural stretch of Interstate 15.

Charlie Burger, who died Thursday at University Medical Center, had a long record of safe driving, according to Kim Bratton-Tubbs, a spokeswoman for Coach USA.

Six other adults and 33 children were injured Tuesday in the crash of the bus, which was returning from a field trip to San Diego. All were treated at Las Vegas area hospitals and released.

Bratton-Tubbs said Burger worked for the company 10 years with no safety violations. Before that, she said, he drove in New Jersey. He appeared to be in good health and had passed his most recent physical exam, she said.

Nevada officials said there is no age limit for bus drivers if they are certified and pass driving tests.

No cause for the accident has been released, but one student’s mother said her son told her Burger fell asleep before hitting the truck. The Las Vegas students were on their way back from a trip to Sea World when the accident occurred just inside the California border shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday.