A deadly school bus fire Tuesday morning in western Iowa may’ve involved a bus that was subject to a recall. Pete Kotowski, with the National Transportation Safety Board, spoke at a news conference this morning in Council Bluffs. “At the present time, we are aware of a safety recall issued by NHTSA for school buses similar to the one involved in this incident,” Kotowski said. NHTSA (pronounced ‘NIT-suh’) is the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“That recall involved an issue with the electrical circuitry,” Kotowski said. “Whether that has any involvement in (the fire), that’s an area we are going to continue to examine and make sure that recall actually involves this particular vehicle.” The accident near Oakland claimed the lives of the only two people on board — the bus driver, 74-year-old Donnie Hendricks, and 16-year-old Megan Klindt. The bus, from the Riverside Community School District, was backing out of the driveway of the Klindt family’s farm, went into a ditch and caught on fire.

(Radio Iowa)