Arkansas Bus Crash Kills 14

(Marion, Arkansas) From the Associated Press:

A tour bus carrying 30 Chicago-area residents to a Mississippi casino left Interstate 55 north of Marion and flipped Saturday morning, killing 14 aboard, a state police spokesman said.

The bus, owned by Walters Charter and Tours of Chicago, was about 30 miles from its destination, Tunica, Miss., when the accident occurred around 5:04 a.m., state police spokesman Bill Sadler said.

A light mist was falling at the time of the accident, but visibility did not appear to be greatly limited, he said.

No cause has been identified. Notably, the bus was recently inspected and determined to be in good mechanical shape. The NTSB is investigating.

Since no other vehicles were involved in the early morning crash and with good visibility and sound equipment, it appears that the driver may have fallen asleep.