Authorities are working to wrap up investigations that could lead to state and federal charges, including negligent homicide, in a deadly August bus crash near Sherman, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.
Federal investigators have conducted interviews in recent weeks aimed at verifying the chain of ownership of a retreaded tire believed to be the cause of the crash.
A charter bus carrying a Vietnamese Catholic group from Houston to a retreat in Missouri skidded off the highway last August, killing 17.
Investigators are trying to determine how the retread was illegally placed on the front axle, who should have noticed it and what ultimately caused it to fail, the AP reported.
The bus was operated by a Houston-based company, Iguala BusMex, that hadn't been approved for interstate transportation.
Iguala BusMex was an offshoot of Angel Tours, which had been closed weeks earlier because of safety violations.
Sherman police have focused on the crash and the driver, Barrett Broussard. The FBI has concentrated on Iguala BusMex, Angel Tours and the owner, Angel de la Torre.
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An attorney for de la Torre and Broussard declined comment Wednesday
Federal investigators have traced the tire to Henise Tire Service, a small, family-owned retreading operation in Cleona, Pa., the AP reported. An attorney for the tire company said the owner earlier this month was questioned by a federal prosecutor.
