TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — The driver of a bus involved in a fiery crash Saturday that left four people dead and at least 25 injured was behind the wheel during another bus crash earlier this year.
Elie Dupiche was driving a bus with more than 30 passengers when he ran through a blinking red light at Woodville Highway and U.S. 98 and crashed into a tractor-trailer. The crash happened about 5 a.m. ET just north of St. Marks, Fla., about 20 miles southeast of Tallahassee
The truck's driver, Gordon A. Sheets, 55, of New York, and three passengers in the bus were killed. Dupiche, 56, was taken to the hospital in critical condition.
The previous crash happened around 6 a.m. Jan. 27 in Dupiche’s home town of Belle Glade, Fla., according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report.
Like the crash near St. Marks, the earlier collision involved a bus full of passengers, a four-way intersection and blinking traffic light. However, no one was seriously injured.
Dupiche was traveling north on North Main Street when he approached a blinking yellow light at an intersection, according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office report. He didn’t look east or west as he went through the intersection and didn’t spot an oncoming eastbound pickup truck.
The pickup truck stopped at a blinking red light before moving into the intersection and crashing into the front driver’s side of the bus, the report said.
The driver of the pickup truck told deputies that Dupiche entered the intersection without stopping or slowing. Dupiche said he noticed the yellow blinking light and slowed down as he approached the intersection.
The pickup truck was heavily damaged in the crash. The bus received less damage around its front right tire.
A flashing yellow light at an intersection means drive with caution. A flashing red light is the same as a stop sign.
“I asked (Dupiche) several times if he stopped at the intersection to look for traffic before entering, and he continued to tell me he went through the intersection normally because he had a yellow light,” the deputy wrote in his report.
The deputy wrote that the crash happened “because (Dupiche) proceeded through the intersection without using caution.”
The deputy cited him for a flashing yellow-light traffic infraction, which comes with a $166 fine. However, Dupiche was found not guilty after a bench trial April 6, according to court records.
Dupiche has been ticketed several other times over the years, according to Palm Beach County court records:
• In 2004, he was cited for speeding4, but the case was dismissed.
• In 2008, he was cited for speeding again and paid a $187.50 fine.
• In 2010, he was cited for failing to wear a seat belt and fined $139.
Follow Jeff Burlew on Twitter: @JeffBurlew
