http://66.225.205.104/0601SkyExpQA.mp3
Virginia State Police say 20 of the passengers on the Sky Express bus that crashed near Richmond this week are in the hospital with serious injuries. They've also identified the four women who died. Two are from New York, one from Pennsylvania, and one from New Jersey. On Wednesday, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to end its practice of granting bus companies extensions to appeal safety reviews. Sky Express racked up 207 federal violations within two years for things like drivers not logging hours or pulling 15-hour stints behind the wheel. One driver didn't even have a commercial driver's license. At the time of Tuesday's crash, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration says it had begun the first steps of what it calls taking the company out of service. That would mean Sky Express wouldn't be allowed to operate bus service between states. The agency gave Sky Express an unsatisfactory rating on April 12th after a review. By law, the administration has to give a company 45 days to appeal the decision. The company did that. Initially the agency denied that request. But a few days later the agency says to quote--ensure it had all the evidence to place the carrier out of service, it gave Sky Express a 10 day extension. Without that extension, Sky Express could've been taken out of service on May 28th, three days before the crash in Virginia. US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has ordered the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to end its practice of granting bus companies extensions to appeal safety reviews. Agency officials plan to ask Congress for more authority to shut down bus companies with violations.