NHTSA Investigation AQ18006

Sale of noncompliant school bus

NHTSA's Office of Chief Counsel received a report from a private attorney representing the estate of a child passenger in a 15 passenger van who died in a crash allegedly occurring when the van was being employed by a school district for student transportation. The attorney provided the agency with a bill of sale and accompanying documentation indicating that the van was sold in August of 2015 by Wiesner Chevrolet of Huntsville, Texas to the Trinity County Texas Independent School District. Sale of a vehicle that does not comply with the Federal Motor Vehicles Safety Standards (FMVSS) applicable to school buses when that vehicle is likely to be used significantly to transport preprimary, primary, and secondary school students to or from school or an event related to school constitutes a violation of Section 30112 of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The purpose of this AQ is to investigate the potential violation of the Act's prohibition of sales of a school bus that is not compliant to FMVSS.

An investigation is a separate record from a recall and from a manufacturer communication. A manufacturer campaign to repair a safety defect or a failure to meet a federal safety standard.