Police say they found no signs of mechanical issues with the Legacy High School bus that crashed earlier this month at the Denver International Airport, killing its driver and injuring 18 others aboard.
“The mechanical inspection turned up no obvious pre-crash issues,” Doug Schepman, a Denver Police Department spokesman, said Wednesday morning. “The investigation is still ongoing, otherwise. It’s still an open investigation.”
Investigators say they still don’t know why the bus crashed head-on on Sept. 11 into a pillar along one of the airport’s access roads. An autopsy for Kari Chopper, the driver, has not been released though her husband — Josh — told The Denver Post that an official at Denver’s medical examiner’s office said she had an enlarged heart.
“The investigation remains open because the autopsy report is pending and we still need to complete an interview with the driver’s husband,” Schepman said. “He’s aware of our need to speak with him, but from a timing standpoint, we are also trying to be respectful of the fact that the family is in mourning.”
The bus was one of three carrying members of Legacy’s varsity and junior varsity football teams back to the school following a weekend trip to play in California. Three coaches — Wayne Vorhees, Matt Kroupa and Kyle Rider — were seriously hurt in the wreck.
Voorhees will return to coaching this week, Adams 12 Five Star Schools said Tuesday, and will resume his role as head coach of the Legacy varsity football team. An interim coach was named while he underwent treatment.
Police have said there is no indication the crash was intentional — though they have not ruled it out — and that they are also looking into whether Chopper had a medical condition.
School bus drivers must have a physical to get a commercial driver’s license, and investigators are reviewing those records. Adams 12 said Chopper passed her last physical May 10 and that bus drivers are required to undergo a physical every two years.
Investigators say some details in the wreck may never be clear because the driver, Chopper, died at the scene.
The Broomfield Enterprise newspaper first reported the news that no mechanical issues were found with the bus.
