McALLEN, Texas-
A federal judge admonished prosecutors Wednesday for using a “back door” tactic to introduce a bus explosion in which 23 nursing home residents died fleeing Hurricane Rita instead of including it in their charges against the bus’ owner and operator.
The accident was mentioned in the sixth paragraph of the introduction to a three-count indictment of Pharr-based Global Limo, Inc. and its owner, James Maples. Maples and his company are accused of conspiring to falsify driver time records and failing to inspect buses to ensure their safety.
In a hearing without the jury present, U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa told Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kinchen putting the 23 deaths in the introduction amounted to a “public relations move” by the government that could not be used in presenting the actual charges.
“You made that decision,” Hinojosa said. “Having made that decision, you just can’t come in the back door. … You could have put it in the indictment.”
He mused that prosecutors put it into the introduction rather than the charges because they knew it was “inflammatory and prejudicial.”
Thirty-seven nursing home residents were on one of Maples’ buses evacuating Houston ahead of Hurricane Rita when it caught fire Sept. 23, 2005, on a freeway near Dallas. Many were disabled and unable to escape.
The accident is believed to have been caused by an overheated bearing in the rear wheel well, probably the result of poor maintenance. The tire ignited and the fire engulfed the bus, then probably caused oxygen canisters to explode, investigators said.
During opening statements Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney John Kinchen told the jury that Maples only maintained buses to “keep the wheels rolling and make money.”
The conspiracy charge is the most serious against Maples, and carries a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine against Maples, $500,000 against the company. It alleges that Maples compelled drivers to enter time when they were on the bus but not driving as “off duty.”
Earlier Wednesday, Juan Robles, a driver for Global Limo, testified that he was ordered to fill out log books incorrectly “because you had to mark down eight hours of rest.”
“There were always to be eight hours of rest, never less,” said Robles, a prosecution witness. “This is the truth the way Mr. Maples wanted it.”
Later, the judge criticized the government’s decision to seek the testimony of Arturo Prado, who works for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Prado said during the hearing without the jury present that he found problems with a Global Limo bus that he inspected after the accident and would testify that the defects likely existed during the May 2005- August 2005 period in the indictment.
Hinojosa balked when Prado said he conducted the inspection in the shop, saying the government was trying to qualify a witness “who finds problems in a bus that’s in a repair garage.”
Hinojosa did not immediately rule on whether Prado could testify.
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