Feds scrutinize Labor Day weekend crash that killed seven

National Transportation Safety Board member Todd Inman on Sunday visited the scene of a commercial bus crash that killed seven people in Mississippi on Saturday. Dozens of others suffered injuries in the crash, Inman told reporters in a press conference on Sunday. The NTSB is conducting an investigation parallel to the Mississippi Highway Patrol’s ongoing investigation of the crash, Inman said. The agency seeks to understand what happened in the wreck and why so it can prevent similar accidents in the future, he said. The agency doesn’t determine fault, he said.

What does NTSB know about the crash thus far? The 2018 Volvo bus was traveling down Interstate 20 in Mississippi early on Sunday with 41 passengers and two drivers aboard, Inman said. As the bus was passing near Bovina, Miss., at around 4 a.m. on Sunday, the bus’s left front tire blew. The bus swerved into an embankment and rolled over onto its left side. The bus departed from Atlanta, Ga., late on Saturday and was en route to Dallas, Texas, Inman said.

How have the deceased individuals been identified? Inman deferred questions about the victims to the highway patrol and local coroner. The individuals who died in the crash ranged in age from 8 to 63 years old, according to the Vicksburg Daily News. The seven people who died were of Mexican origin, the county’s Foreign Affairs Secretary Alicia Bárcena confirmed on social media late Sunday.

Dig deeper: Read Lauren Canterberry’s report about how Hurricane Debby left five dead in Florida early last month.