BY JEFF CHUDZINSKINorth Country This Week

LOUISVILLE -- A fatigued driver, inaccessible seat belts and poor safety histories of two companies are to blame for the deaths of six migrant workers who were killed in a head on collision on Saturday, Jan. 29, 2023.

National Transportation Safety Bureau officials issued their findings during a public hearing on Nov. 19, 2024, with numerous experts weighing in on the deadly scenario that played out.

According to NTSB officials, all occupants of the bus who were on the left hand side of the bus were either killed or severely injured.

Three of the six who were killed in the accident were thrown from the bus, while the other three suffered severe injuries and were thrown around the bus.

A seventh occupant was severely injured, along with the bus driver, Christopher Valiro-Torres, 36, of Venezuela, who was wearing a seat belt.

All but one occupant on the right side of the bus were moderately or seriously injured due to a lack of seatbelts, NTSB officials said.

NTSB officials say a failure by LBFNY, LLC to provide accessible seat belts, coupled with a lack of policy to require the use of restraints likely lead to all six deaths and the severity of the injuries sustained by the victims who survived the crash.

Photos shown during the hearing detailed how belts on the original seats in the bus were underneath the seats and wrapped around posts to tuck them out of the way. Additional seats were also installed to allow for more occupants on the bus, with belts also tucked out of the way on those seats as well.

Though New York State laws require seat belts to be worn in most vehicles, from taxi cabs to passenger vehicles and charter buses, belts were not required with the type of bus being used to transport the workers that day, officials said.

The driver of the 2021 Freightliner box truck, Harley N. Diaz-Baez, 25, of the Bronx, was also severely injured in the crash but survived due in part to him wearing a seatbelt, officials said.

NTSB officials recommended LBFNY, LLC implement a seatbelt use policy and begin each trip with a safety briefing to detail the benefits of wearing a seatbelt, per their guidelines.

They also said it is recommended that LBFNY, LLC have procedures in place to ensure all buses have belts that are functional and inspected regularly to ensure compliance.

In further action, NTSB officials also issued a recommendation to state officials, calling on the state legislature to pass legislation to require the use of seat belts for all vehicles on the highway, including buses like the one involved in the crash.

But seat belts were not the only issue that led to the crash.

Driver fatigue also played a significant role, according to NTSB officials.

According to the report, Diaz-Baez was severely fatigued and not offered guidance by AGL, his employer on how best to avoid fatigue.

Though his toxicology report came back negative, Diaz-Baez was on his fifth straight day working a night shift during which he drove from 1 a.m. to 11:30 a.m..

According to the report, he had done so for three straight weeks prior to the accident.

An expert who spoke during the hearing said that night shifts such as those undertaken by Diaz-Baez disrupt natural sleep patterns and a poor adjustment to the sleep loss can lead to additional fatigue.

According to findings, Diaz-Baez obtained five or less hours of uninterrupted sleep each of the three days prior to the accident, playing a direct role in his fatigue that likely led to him crossing the center line and striking the bus carrying LBFNY's workers.

NTSB officials said AGL did not have policies in place to manage fatigue risks, something they recommended should be put in place in the future to avoid such incidents.

NTSB officials also noted AGL's safety rating, saying AGL was a continuation of Chopper DDS Inc., a transportation company that had poor safety ratings in the past.

According to NTSB officials, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) failed to recognize AGL's prior safety record, resulting in an inaccurate assessment of company safety controls and regulation compliance.

They suggested stronger safety performance requirements were needed for new entrant motor carriers, such as AGL, to ensure carriers cannot graduate from the New Entrant Safety Assurance Program if on-road data shows a pattern of unsafe operation and high crash rates.

The full report from NTSB officials comes nearly two years after NTSB investigators issued their initial report after investigating the accident.

Other parties involved with the investigation included the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, New York State Police and New York Department of Transportation.

The Feb. 2023 report initially concluded the accident occurred at 6:02 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. The collision, between a 2013 medium sized bus with 15 occupants and a 2021 Freightliner box truck, was originally deemed due to poor visibility and snow and ice covered roads, according to police.

Officials with LBFNY, LLC said at the time that the workers were enroute to a solar project in the Madrid area on the morning of the accident.

Dozens of first responders were called to the scene as there were mass casualties. Their efforts were recognized by Mayor Mike Zagrobelny of Waddington shortly after the incident occurred.

“As many of you are aware, there was a terrible accident on Rt. 37 in Louisville early this morning,” he said in an online statement. “Thank you to all of the first responders from around the county including Waddington Volunteer Rescue Squad and Waddington Volunteer Fire Department who responded, thank you to St. Lawrence County dispatch for coordination of efforts, and hospital workers. Please share thanks with the responders but also grant them the grace to deal with what they may have witnessed. Thank you again for being there at the worst of times.”

Troopers were assisted by St. Lawrence County Sheriff’s department, multiple fire and rescue teams; Louisville, Waddington, Norfolk, Madrid, Massena, and Seaway Valley.

The victims were reportedly transported to Massena Memorial, Canton-Potsdam Hospital, and Claxton Hepburn Medical Center.