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'It's disheartening' | Court records reveal more about the drivers in deadly York County crash

In a search warrant filed by investigators, they wrote what troopers learned about the drivers when they responded to the deadly December crash.

YORK COUNTY, Va. — Three weeks after a party bus collided with a tractor-trailer on I-64, families of the victims are still waiting for answers.

The Dec. 16 crash killed 25-year-old Xzavier Raquan Evans of Norfolk, 19-year-old Montia Bouie of Chesapeake, and 21-year-old Jontae Kaalib Russell of Norfolk. 

The three were riding on the party bus back from celebrating Evans' music career in Richmond when the crash happened shortly before 2 a.m.

Now, a search warrant recently filed in York County General District Court is sharing more about what troopers learned the night of the crash. 

In the document, investigators say the trooper spoke with the driver of the party bus first. He said the driver told him he was driving in the far-right lane when he "checked my driver side mirror, I see a semi-truck approaching very fast. I began to change lanes and got hit from the back."

Shortly after, the trooper said he then spoke with the driver of the tractor-trailer. He said the driver told him he "drove up on the bus. I did not see any tail lights."

About four days after the crash, the trooper examined the tractor-trailer at the auto repair yard where it was taken. He wrote in the court document that he found four unknown pill bottles on the floorboard and a diabetic sugar tester on the driver's seat. It's still unclear what type of pills they were. 

The investigator wrote in the document, saying he learned the driver of the party bus had a suspended license and was driving "well under the speed limit." 

He also wrote the tractor-trailer driver slammed the back of the bus at full speed and falsified his log books by "driving well outside his working duty time allowed."

He said he gathered enough evidence to prove probable cause exists to believe that the tractor-trailer driver was driving recklessly. 

Daqwone Hill is Xzavier Evans' brother. Jontae Russell is also Evans' brother. Hill said his family laid Evans and Russell to rest on December 30.

However, he said because he is receiving few answers from Virginia State Police on the investigation, his family feels far from closure.

"It's been very difficult for everyone," said Hill. "Any of the police or whoever is controlling the case, they haven't reached out to us or given us any information and that's disheartening."

13News Now reached out to the investigator handling the information on the case why officials have not responded to the victims' families' request for more details. 

The investigator responded, saying, "A thorough and detailed investigation into all aspects of this crash remains ongoing. It would be inappropriate to share the details of the investigation at this time. Further information will be provided once the investigation is complete."

However, Hill said he wants transparency from all of the agencies involved as his family prepares to move forward in the court proceedings. 

"It's kind of hard for us to be able to properly grieve when we don't even know what really happened," Hill said. "Because if it weren't for this driver falsifying his log book, my brothers would have made it home that night."

Agents with the National Transportation Safety Board said they are still developing their preliminary report and will release the information once they are able to make it public. 

A spokeswoman for the York County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said prosecutors are waiting for the full report before officially filing charges.

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