USU had cited dangers of vans long before crash

LOGAN — Years before eight students and one instructor died in a van rollover Monday, Utah State University officials knew the vehicles could be dangerous.

"Vans represent one of the greatest driving risks to the university," the school's 2001 policy on vehicle use states.

The policy warns users not to overload the vans with equipment, since they are known to have problems with balance. It also requires all occupants to buckle up.

Now, USU officials are re-examining that policy, while still allowing scheduled excursions using the 15-passenger vans. The van in Monday's crash was a 1994 Dodge Ram.

Seven students and their instructor were killed in the accident or died shortly thereafter. Another student, 22-year-old Justin Huggins, died in the hospital overnight, bringing the death toll from Monday's crash to nine.

Tuesday, the survivors, Jared P. Nelson, 22, Woodburn, Ore., remained in critical condition, and Robert Hadley Petersen, 21, Tremonton, was in serious condition, at Ogden hospitals.

The students and their instructor were traveling back from an agricultural field trip near Tremonton in Box Elder County when, police say, the left rear tire blew out, causing the vehicle to skid out of control and roll at least four times.

No one was wearing a seat belt and the force of the crash ejected all 11 occupants from the van, Utah Highway Patrol trooper Jeff Nigbur said.

The school has had problems with the vans in the past. Six volleyball players were injured in 2001 after one of the school's vans flipped near Laramie, Wyo.

At USU's Logan campus, school officials struggled to find answers Tuesday as emotions from the previous day's events ran high. Several couldn't speak. They just slumped their shoulders and fought back tears.

Glen Ford, vice president for business and finance, said all scheduled trips requiring use of the vans will still proceed. However, school transportation officials will check all the vans in USU's fleet to ensure tires are properly inflated.

USU's current transportation policy requires that those who drive the vans be certified through a four-hour course.

Evan Parker, 45, the driver and the students' instructor, had not only taken the course but also had a commercial driver's license, USU spokesman John DeVilbiss said.