Manslaughter charges filed in 2007 Ark. bus crash

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Posted on 19th November 2008 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Date: 11/19/2008

By JON GAMBRELL
Associated Press Writer


LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) _ A Texas bus driver in a crash last year that killed four people will face manslaughter charges because there isn’t enough evidence to charge him with negligent homicide.

Twenty-nine-year-old Felix Badillo Tapia was charged Wednesday with four counts of manslaughter in the November 2007 crash in Arkansas. They each carry a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Felony negligent homicide charges would require proof of drug or alcohol intoxication. Prosecutor Fletcher Long says authorities did not conduct a field sobriety test on the suspect.

Tapia was driving a Tornado Bus Co. bus when it slammed into a pickup truck and a tractor-trailer. The crash killed three bus passengers and the pickup’s driver.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.