11 defendants settle with Texas bus crash victims

DALLAS – Eleven of the companies and individuals sued by the families of victims in a 2008 Texas bus crash that killed 17 people on their way to a religious retreat have agreed to out-of-court settlements.

The settlements were noted in a court order signed by the presiding judge on June 13.

Among the settling parties are the operator of the charter bus company, the company that inspected the bus before the trip and the firm that retreaded the blown-out tire that caused the crash. The financial terms were not revealed.

Six defendants remain in the litigation that accuses multiple parties of negligence.

Fifty-five members of Houston's Vietnamese Catholic community were en route to Missouri when the bus plunged over a highway bridge near Sherman, Texas, about 60 miles north of Dallas.