Faulty Brakes Hinted in Bus Deaths of 19

SAN DIEGO —  Mexican authorities said Tuesday that mechanical failure--possibly faulty brakes--was the likely cause of a bus crash in Ensenada that left at least 19 people dead and 22 others injured, many seriously.

“It appears that the driver couldn’t stop the vehicle,” said Elias Padilla Gonzalez, who heads the Ensenada branch of the Baja California transit department, which is investigating Monday’s accident.

Padilla and others described the accident in telephone interviews Tuesday.

The bus--reportedly more than 20 years old--was filled to capacity when it veered off a sharp curve on an unpaved road northeast of downtown Ensenada and plunged more than 50 yards down an embankment, officials said. The vehicle rolled over numerous times before coming to rest at the bottom of a hill shortly after 11:30 a.m. Monday. Driving conditions, already hazardous on the steep, rocky roadway, were rendered even more perilous by recent rain, authorities said.

According to a police interview with one witness, the driver warned passengers, “Hang On! We have no brakes!” shortly before going over the side.

The bus was owned by a cooperative known as Rojo y Blanco (Red and White). The driver, identified as Martin Rosales, was among 15 people reported dead at the scene, authorities said. Four others succumbed at hospitals on Tuesday.