[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 80 (Thursday, May 31, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E923]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         TRAGEDY ON THE HIGHWAY

                                  _____
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 31, 2012

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I am here today because of a terrible 
tragedy that occurred in my Congressional district nearly 6 years ago.
   In 2006, the City of Beaumont was still recovering from Hurricane 
Rita. The West Brook High School girl's soccer team and their successes 
were good news that brought joy to a city in need of something to cheer 
for.
   The Bruins were coming off a 14 5 2 record, and they were traveling 
to Humble, Texas, to take on the Houston Lamar Redskins in the Class 5A 
playoffs.
   The game had already been postponed once and it was raining again, 
but the game was set to take place at 5 p.m. in Humble.
   Unfortunately, the team never made it to the game.
   Around 2 p.m., about 28 miles from home in Devers, Texas, the 
chartered bus carrying the team, swerved to miss debris that had fallen 
off a truck in front of them.
   The bus rolled onto its side into a muddy ditch.
  Senior Alicia Bonura and sophomore Ashley Brown lost their lives in 
this tragedy.
   Six other girls were hospitalized in serious condition. Goalie Devin 
Martindale lost her arm in this accident.
   Stephen Forman and Brad Brown, parents of two of the victims of the 
accident are here today and I would like to thank them for their work 
on this issue.
   Because of this accident, I became involved in the Motorcoach safe 
issue, and I was happy to work with my colleague Rep. John Lewis (GA) 
to push for some common-sense provisions in the Transportation bill to 
apply to the Motorcoach industry so that another West Brook tragedy can 
be avoided.
   These provisions are:
  1. Requiring safety belts to ensure that occupants stay in their 
seats in a crash.
  2. Requiring anti-ejection glazing on windows to help prevent 
passengers from being easily thrown from the motorcoach.
  3. Ensuring that strong, crush-resistant roofs can withstand 
rollovers.
  4. Improving oversight and enforcement requirements for motorcoach 
companies.
  I strongly believe that these long overdue safety improvements can go 
a long way in making our nations buses safer.
  And that's just the way it is.

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