HWY 99 is back open. The morning commute will not be affected.
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C.H.P. investigators were trying to make Wednesday morning's re-creation about as real as possible. They used the same stretch of highway, did it at about the same time as the accident, and even picked this day because the moon is the same as it was on that night in July.
Accident investigators used the same S.U.V. that rolled over and came to a stop on Highway 99. A charter bus took the place of the Greyhound bus and several different officers sat in the driver's seat.
Their goal was to see how soon the bus driver could've noticed the S.U.V. on the highway and how long it would've taken him to stop the bus. Investigators can't ask the actual driver, James Jewett, because he's one of six people who died in the crash.
An attorney for the driver of the S.U.V. also came out to see the re-creation, but he's also wondering if the Highway Patrol could've prevented the accident.
"We are interested in seeing a fair reconstruction of this accident from the C.H.P. There has been an issue that's been discussed loosely about the timing of the first call or two that came in to the California Highway Patrol. As you know, their office is just a few hundred yards from here. And the question being 'why did it take so long for the C.H.P. to arrive on scene. Flashing lights, etc. would have protected this vehicle from the oncoming bus and other vehicles," said Attorney for the Garay family Robert Gilmore.
The lawyer says it took C.H.P. four minutes to get to the scene after the first 911 call. His clients' daughter was 18-year-old Sylvia Garay. Investigators say Garay had a blood alcohol content of 0.11 when she was tested by coroners. Investigators believe she overcorrected after almost exiting at McKinley.
A few minutes after she flipped the S.U.V., the Greyhound bus hit the vehicle and dragged it off the highway. Garay and two friends died, along with the bus driver and two of 31 bus passengers.
