Trooper Melissa Matey told NOLA.com ‘ The Times-Picayune (http://bit.ly/2bKiYW8 ) that the bus driver did not have a commercial license and was not authorized to drive a bus.
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Two people are dead and dozens more were injured in a crash on I-10 that involved a charter bus full of volunteers on their way to help with flood relief.
Matey says the dead include a local fire chief and a rear-seat occupant of a vehicle also hit by the bus.
Most injuries were minor to moderate, but Matey says one firefighter is critically injured.
State Police identified the bus driver as Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, of Honduras, who turned 37 earlier this month.
One of the firemen, District Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin, was taken to an area hospital, where he was declared dead, she said.
The second fatality was an unidentified person who was sitting in the backseat of a Toyota Camry when the bus struck the vehicle, police said. The other two firefighters were hospitalized, one in critical but stable condition and the other with moderate injuries.
Acadian Ambulance is reporting that two people have died and over 40 were transported to nearby hospitals.
WDSU news crews confirmed that the bus was carrying flood-relief volunteers headed to Baton Rouge.
The bus driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, is from the Honduras and is in the US illegally, Matey said.
It is not known who hired the workers, but police believe they are in the USA illegally, Matey said.
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Westbound Interstate 10 was closed while investigators cleared the scene, police said.
