WILLIAMS, Calif. — A bus driver with a string of motor vehicle offenses and a history of substance abuse was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence Monday after his casino-bound charter bus ran into a ditch, killing eight people.
Investigators also said the bus had an invalid license plate, and they were looking into whether the driver had proper permits to operate the vehicle. The bus ran off the road Sunday while taking passengers to a gambling hall in northern California. About 30 people were injured.
Records show 52-year-old Quintin Watts had been cited for speeding and other violations that resulted in loss of his license for nearly two years. He regained his driving privileges in January.
Watts was arrested as he lay critically injured in his hospital bed. His mother said he had wrestled with drug and alcohol problems, was jailed several times on drug charges and had smashed a car carrying a friend into a tree a few years ago, though neither was seriously hurt.
Chaney Mae Watts said she believed the crash came on her son’s first day behind the wheel of the bus after several training trips watching the owner drive. She and her husband told their son they were uncomfortable with him driving a vehicle that carried people instead of cargo.
“He wasn’t the best driver,” she said. “He knew we didn’t want him to drive.”
Authorities were investigating whether prescription or nonprescription drugs or alcohol, or a combination, were involved in the crash. Blood test results are not expected for two to six weeks.
The bus was taking about 43 passengers to the Colusa Casino Resort. A witness said it drifted off a rural two-lane road before the driver “overcorrected” and swerved back. The bus ejected some passengers and crushed others as it rolled, a highway patrol spokesman said.
Yvonne Haynes, 35, of Merced got a phone call Sunday about the accident from her brother Tou Xiong, 29. They called hospitals looking for their mother. They found her at a hospital in Sacramento.
“She came in as a Jane Doe,” Xiong said. “Her purse was lost in the accident, and she did not have any ID.”
“She squeezed my hand,” Haynes said, “so I know she hears me.”
