Verdict's strong message to bus drivers

The verdict against the driver in last year's deadly bus crash in Colusa County could impact professional drivers across the nation, authorities said.

Quintin Joey Watts, 53, of Stockton was sentenced on Wednesday to 26 years in prison for the Oct. 5, 2008, crash that killed 11 people and injured nearly 30 others.

"Holding a defendant accountable for gross negligence based solely on driver fatigue and without the presence of drugs or alcohol is unusual," special prosecutor Creg Datig said Thursday.

Datig, a former Riverside prosecutor, assisted the Colusa District Attorney's Office during the trial.

He has specialized in vehicular homicide cases for more than 20 years. He called the decision "significant" and said every professional driver in America should be aware of the verdict.

"Whether or not the case becomes a published decision that would carry legal impact remains to be seen," Datig said. "But, it will definitely have anecdotal impact on drivers, particularly commercial passenger drivers."

Datig said the jury's ruling "raises the bar of expectations for commercial drivers."

"With their decision, the jury basically said that people believe commercial drivers must be more careful than regular drivers, especially if they're responsible for transporting people," Datig said.

Members of the California Bus Association said they supported the jury's verdict.

Michael Giddens, general manager of Pacific Coachways Charter Services, a CBA member, said he was happy to see Watts was convicted.

"We don't want drivers feeling like they're going to be prosecuted for every little thing," Giddens said. "But, we do want to see more of a crackdown on companies that don't follow the law."

Giddens said the CBA is "all for stricter standards."

"We spend a lot of time training our drivers and ensuring that we follow or even exceed legal safety requirements," Giddens said.

The CBA sponsored a state bill that was signed into law last month that will increase penalties for charter bus companies and drivers that fail to comply with licensing and safety regulations.

The Charter Bus Safety Act was authored by Assemblyman Dave Jones, R-Sacramento, and signed into law by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on the one-year anniversary of the crash. The law takes effect in January.

"The penalties for charter buses and drivers who were not properly licensed and not safe were far too low," Jones said in a statement. "The weak suspensions and flimsy monetary fines did not act as deterrents for fly-by-night, rogue charter bus companies, and they did not prevent horrific disasters like the one that occurred last year (in Colusa County)."

The bill permanently rescinds the operating permit of a bus company if it is found operating without a permit or on a suspended license, knowingly hires an unlicensed bus driver, or fails to register its buses with the Department of Motor Vehicles.

The bill also suspends unlicensed bus drivers for five years.

Investigators testified that Watts had spent the night before the accident gambling at Colusa Casino Resort and had slept just three hours during the previous 37 hours leading up to the crash.

Passengers testified seeing Watts fall asleep just moments before the bus veered off a rural county road between Colusa and Williams.

Watts, an insulin-dependent diabetic, was training to be a bus driver, but had yet to receive an endorsement to drive passengers commercially, authorities said. His stepfather, Daniel Cobb, was the owner of the bus company and was killed in the accident. He was reportedly training Watts at the time of the crash.

According to the probation report, Watts was cleared by a physician to drive commercially, "despite federal laws that specifically prohibit issuing medical certificates to anyone with insulin-dependent diabetes."

Datig said he was not aware of any criminal investigations into the medical practice that issued Watts his certificate.