BUS DRIVER IN FATAL WRECK HAD LOST JOBS FOR DRUGS USE

Investigation: He also tested positive for marijuana after the New Orleans
crash that killed 22,officials say.

New Orleans-The driver of a charter bus that crashed and killed 22
people was fired from bus companies in 1996 and 1989 after testing
positive for marijuana four times, authorities said Thursday.

A federal investigator also confirmed a report that Frank Bedell, 46,
tested positive for marijuana when he was hospitalized Sunday after
the bus veered off a highway and plunged into an embankment.

I was not clear how long before the crash that Bedell might have
smoked marijuana or whether the presence of the drug in his system
contributed to the accident, said Ken Suydam, the lead National
Transportation Safety Board investigator.

"It's another piece of the puzzle we have to put together," Suydam
said.

The cause of the crash has yet to be determined. Bedell remains in a
hospital and is unavailable for comment.

Investigators are looking into reports that a car may have cut in
front of the bus just before it crashed. They have found no evidence
that the bus had any mechanical problems that might have contributed
to the accident.

Bedell's medical history, which includes kidney and heart problems,
has not been linked to the accident by investigators. Investigators
say the case shows gaps in the system to make sure bus drivers are
medically sound.

Bedell's history of testing positive for marijuana happened while
employed as a municipal bus driver in New Orleans and in suburban
Jefferson Parish. Authorities previously said he tested positive for
cocaine in 1997 after applying for a job with Greyhound.

Sometime after being hired in New Orleans in 1976, Bedell was given a
drug test because he had been absent for work for eight days, Suydam
said. After testing positive for marijuana, Bedell spent several
months attending classes in an employee-assistance program.

But he later tested positive again for the drug and was fired in March
1989, Suydam said.

In 1992, Bedell was hired as a driver for suburban buses. He failed a
marijuana drug test the next year, Suydam said. Bedell spent two
months in a drug-rehabilitation program, but tested positive again for
the drug in 1996 and was terminated a week later.

Authorities said Bedell passed at least three drug tests while working
for Custom Bus Charters, the company that provided the bus for the
Mother's Day gambling excursion to a Mississippi casino.

Custom president Donna Begovich said in a statement Thursday that she
was shocked to learn Bedell tested positive for marijuana after the
crash.

"Of course, Custom had no way of knowing Frank's drug usage at any
time," Begovich said. "Frank Bedell passed his preemployment drug
test, the city's drug test, a police background check and three
subsequent random drug tests within an 18-month period. What else
could we have done?"

Custom officials have also said companies Bedell worked for previously
never told them that he had failed drug tests.