A California-based bus company has been ordered to stop operations immediately following a bus accident that took the lives of six people just outside of Phoenix, Arizona. The bus had left Zacatecas, a state in Mexico, and drivers were supposed to switch in Phoenix.

The accident took place on the Gila River Indian Reservation which is about 25 miles south of Phoenix. Apparently, the bus struck a pickup truck which caused it to veer off the road. The driver then overcorrected when he tried to regain control of the bus, causing it to roll over. More than a dozen people were seriously injured, and six were killed. The driver of the bus was also seriously injured, and nine have been listed in critical condition. Spinal cord and head injuries are some of the types of injuries reported in this crash. The initial investigation has been concluded according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety, which plans to announce the results in the near future.

Tierra Santa Inc. is the Los Angeles based company operating the bus, which was ordered by a federal judge to cease operating any buses. Cayetano Martinez, the owner of Teirra Santa, has been involved in transporting passengers illegally prior to this incident, and has been ordered to stop operating buses that carry passengers across state lines. Martinez' company has been shut down before, but he continued to transport passengers by bus after changing the name of his company, which California bus accident lawyers know happens frequently with bus companies.

In order for Martinez to to contract a motor carrier to transport passengers, a valid operating authority issued by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration must by possessed by the contracted carrier. His failure to follow safety regulations put in place by the FMCSA will likely have Martinez facing civil penalties from the Department of Transportation. Terra Santa Inc. had apparently been ordered just last June not to transport passengers across state lines, and had been ordered again in December, a fact that California bus accident attorneys have recently learned.

There are many issues regarding enforcement of federal bus safety laws, and injury lawyers in California have long been pushing for stricter enforcement to make it more difficult for unsafe operators to continue transporting passengers after resuming operations under a different name. This type of thing happens all too often, and this recent tragedy is one example of why these practices must be stopped, as passengers are the ones who suffer the consequences.