DRIVER IN FATAL BUS CRASH IMPROVES

NEW ORLEANS - The driver of the tour bus that crashed on
Mother's Day has improved enough to be taken off a ventilator, but will not
immediately talk to investigators about the accident that killed 22
people.

Frank Bedell, 46, was in critical condition for more than a week. He
was to be interviewed Wednesday by authorities, but his lawyer
declined to grant permission.

"I just don't believe he's well enough to be interviewed by anybody,"
Jay Zainey said. He did not know when he would let Bedell be questioned.

Meanwhile, lawyers for some victims claimed the bus went through a
guardrail and slammed into an embankment because termites had eaten
away the insides of oak posts holding the rail in place.

If the posts hadn't been weakened, the bus probably would have been
deflected back onto the highway, sparing some of the victims, said
Stephen Rue, one of the lawyers.

"They crumble to your touch," Rue said, sticking a butter knife into a
post. The hole he made exposed hundreds of squirming little bugs.
"This is obviously a contributing factor in the tragedy."

A spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board did not know
if investigators had checked the posts.

The Custom Charters bus veered off Interstate 610 in New Orleans on
May 9 during a gambling trip to a Mississippi casino, killing 22 of
the 43 mostly elderly passengers.

Following the crash, authorities uncovered evidence showing Bedell had
congestive heart disease, had lost two bus-driving jobs because he
used marijuana, had failed a test for cocaine and was undergoing dialysis.

Only 12 hours before the crash, Bedell received treatment in a
hospital emergency room for dehydration and extremely low blood
pressure. In addition,tests found traces of marijuana in Bedell's
blood after the crash.

NTSB investigators say Bedell should not have been driving but it is
not clear whether his health problems or drug use contributed to the
crash.

Investigators say that are looking into the reports about the car
cutting in front of the bus, but don't know whether they are credible.
Zainey said his client insists it's true.