Report blames driver error for fatal bus crash

WASHINGTON - Driver error was listed as the probable cause of the fatal Atlanta bus crash last year involving members of the Bluffton University baseball team.

Members of the National Transportation Safety Board unanimously approved the cause just minutes ago. Contributing to the crash was a "failure" of the Georgia Department of Transportation to adequately distinguish between a high-occupancy vehicle lane and a left-side exit ramp lane at the crash site.

Shortly before 1 p.m., the NTSB adopted the final report on the March 2, 2007, crash in Atlanta that killed five members of the baseball team, the bus driver and his wife. Click here to see the Webcast. 

Investigators said the bus driver, Jerome "Jerry" Niemeyer, of Columbus Grove, likely mistook an elevated left-hand exit ramp as a high-occupancy vehicle lane in which the bus had been traveling. NTSB Investigator David Rayburn said signs and road markings leading up to the crash did not clearly differentiate between the exit lane and the HOV lane.

Other investigators cited the lack of safety restraints, resulting in 12 ejections during the crash at Northside Drive north of Atlanta.

All NTSB members expressed condolences to the families and communities affected by the crash. Investigators and board members noted there have been nine crashes at the site from 1997 to 2007. Three were fatal. All involved drivers from outside the Atlanta area.

"It was an accident that didn't have to happen," Chairman Mark Rosenker said. "Had the appropriate investigations taken place at the state level, we might not be here today."

The crash killed players Tyler Williams, of Lima, Scott Harmon, of Elida, David Betts, of Bryan, Cody Holp, of Arcanum, and Zachary Arend, of Oakwood. The bus driver and wife, Jerome "Jerry" and Jean Niemeyer, of Columbus Grove, also died.

Bluffton University will be represented at the meeting by Eric Fulcomer, vice president of enrollment and student life. Officials believe it's important for someone from the school to hear the report firsthand, said Hans Houshower, vice president of advancement.

NTSB has been investigating the accident since it occurred in the early morning of March 2, 2007. The team was headed to a tournament in Sarasota, Fla.

The crash has become a flashpoint in a decades-long debate over requiring seat belts and other safety features on buses. Parents of the victims have joined advocacy groups in pressing for new regulations.

Parents of several of the crash victims appeared at the meeting to call for stronger regulations on bus safety, including for stronger roofs, shatterproof window glazing and mandatory seat belts. The NTSB has made similar recommendations dating back to 1968, but the recommendations have never made it into law.

John Betts, whose son, David, was killed in the crash, said if the NTSB's proposals had been adopted, "our sons would be alive today."

"That's not a wish. That's not a fantasy. That's a fact," he said. "The apathy has gone on too long. These recommendations were made 40 years ago."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

This story was first posted at 7:50 a.m. and updated at 10 a.m., 11:45 a.m., 12:25 p.m., 12:50 p.m. and 1 p.m.