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Mi Joo bus drivers banned from USA

Mi Joo Tour and Travel was involved in a fatal bus crash that killed nine people and injured 39 on Dec. 30, 2012, in Oregon
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Two bus drivers with Coquitlam's Mi Joo Travel and Tour are now barred from driving in the USA

Two bus drivers with Coquitlam's Mi Joo Tour and Travel are now banned from driving south of the border.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has declared Surrey resident Haeng Kyu "James" Hwang and Choong Yrl Choi as "imminent hazards" to public safety.

The decision comes three weeks after a Mi Joo bus that Hwang was driving swerved off a dangerous road and rolled down an embankment in Oregon; the accident killed nine people, including a Maple Ridge resident.

The FMCSA said Hwang was "well beyond the 70-hour maximum hours of services within a seven-day period" allowed under federal rules.

In its statement filed Jan. 17, the agency wrote to Hwang: "You engaged in unsafe driving while operating a commercial motorcoach filled with passengers. On or about Dec. 30, 2012, you were driving at speeds too fast for conditions and driving in a manner unsafe to existing road conditions."

Further, "You exhibited a careless or reckless disregard for the safety of yourself, your passengers and the general public."

Choi, who was driving another bus part of the same western USA tour, was also found by FMCSA as part of its investigation to have been over the 70-hour limit.

Earlier this month, a Seattle lawyer for Mi Joo Tour and Travel said the driver slipped on black ice.

jwarren@tricitynews.com