Feds: Drug Pipe Found In Truck That Hit Texas Softball Team's Bus
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OKLAHOMA CITY (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — Federal transportation officials say a small pipe containing synthetic marijuana residue was found in a semitrailer after it crashed into a Texas college softball team's bus in Oklahoma last year, killing four players.
National Transportation Safety Board officials discussed the findings of their investigation Tuesday during a hearing in Washington about the crash involving the North Central Texas College team. The Texas college is located just south of the Oklahoma-border, in Gainesville.
They allege that the truck driver, Russell Wayne Staley, of Saginaw, had a history of using synthetic marijuana and didn't try to avoid hitting the bus in the opposite lane. But NTSB medical officer Dr. Nick Webster says a blood test couldn't confirm the presence of the drug in Staley's system.
Staley, who was treated for his minor injuries at the scene of the crash, is charged with four counts of first-degree manslaughter. His lawyer didn't immediately respond to a call.
The crash along Interstate-35, in September of 2014, killed softball players Meagan Richardson, 19, Brooke Deckard, 20, Katelynn Woodlee, 18, and 20-year-old Jaiden Pelton. All of the women all were from small North Texas towns near the campus.
The team was returning from a scrimmage against Southern Nazarene University in Bethany, Oklahoma.
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