The Freeborn County Attorney’s Office has more work to do when it comes to the November 2009 crash of a bus full of senior citizens on Interstate 90 near Oakland.

An investigation into what caused the driver to veer into the oncoming lanes and into the ditch by experts hired by the Suk Law Firm on behalf of clients apparently have found more answers. At the very least, the new investigation found answers that ought to spur authorities to reopen their look at the crash.

The investigation discovered the driver had been diagnosed with “severe positional sleep apnea” in 2001 at Mayo Clinic but declined treatment.

This is the paragraph in the Suk press release that should stir action on the part of authorities:

“A medical expert engaged by the claimants’ lawyers had determined that Erickson had not had a ‘sudden medical emergency,’ but had actually lost control of the bus due to falling asleep at the wheel because of untreated sleep apnea.”

If the medical expert is correct, it would seem worthy of reopening the case for examining possible criminal charges. A coach bus driver with untreated sleep apnea would seem to be serious negligence. Not only that, the driver had been convicted of drunken driving in 2002. And the report states he denied, when applying for his commercial license, issues of alcohol or sleep apnea.

The bus company’s insurance company came to agree with the conclusions of the medical expert and an accident reconstructionist.

That’s a fairly weighty endorsement of the investigation’s conclusions. We hope that gives the Freeborn County prosecutors some motivation to take another look at the case. Perhaps there is justice still to be served.

While most passengers were part of the settlement, that doesn’t mean the driver has received proper scrutiny.