The Nevada Highway Patrol released new findings on the Sept. 5 crash involving a school bus carrying the Pahrump Valley High School junior varsity football team, a nighttime Highway 160 construction zone wreck that injured at least four on the bus.
“The contractor company, Aggregate Industries, was found to be at fault for the crash; the driver was cited for failure to yield right of way,” NHP Trooper Jason Buratczuk said in an email on Thursday.
“Evidence gathered showed the bus was under the posted limit when the crash occurred,” Buratczuk also wrote. “The contracted company by NDOT was found to be at fault for the crash and was cited for the violation.”
No names have been released.
David Dziubinski, a general manager for Aggregate Industries, said on Thursday that he had not received any information from the NHP on the investigation.
On Thursday, he also provided a written statement, initially released Sept. 6 to other media.
“The health and safety of our employees, sub-contractors and the general public is of paramount importance to Aggregate Industries and our primary concern is for those involved. We were concerned to hear of the accident … that occurred in the construction zone of the Highway 160 project,” the statement read. “We are working closely with authorities, who are investigating this incident and are not in a position to provide any new details. We sincerely wish for the best for the students and individuals involved in this accident.
“As stated above, the health and safety of our employees, sub-contractors and the general public is extremely important to us and as such we will always do our best to support the authorities in investigations like this,” the statement also said.
An NDOT spokesman had reported via email on Sept. 6 that the NDOT contractor was not found at fault in the crash south of Pahrump in Clark County.
The NHP investigation was continuing at the time, with no NHP findings released.
The crash occurred in the work zone south of Pahrump near the Tecopa turnoff about 11 p.m. in Clark County.
“Apparently, a Nye County school bus was side-struck by a front-wheeler loader with a special attachment used for moving concrete barrier rails,” the NDOT email said.
Each barrier rail section measures 12 feet in length and weighs approximately 5,500 pounds, NDOT said.
This is a developing story. See pvtimes.com for updates.