SHARON SPRINGS ? A charter bus carrying the football team for the Kansas School for the Deaf bus was going 80 mph seconds before a fatal crash last month, the Kansas Highway Patrol said.

The speeding bus went out of control Oct. 27 on a curve on U.S. Highway 40 near Sharon Springs in western Kansas. It slid into a ditch and flipped, killing a coach.

The 34 people aboard, including the team and the cheerleaders, were on their way home from a game in Colorado. Survivors of the crash were taken to hospitals, and at least six were kept overnight.

In an accident report filed this week, Kansas Highway Patrol Trooper Andrew Schippers wrote that evidence indicated that bus driver Ronald R. Zimmerman “was traveling too fast and could not make the curve.”

The speed limit on the highway is 65 mph. The curve is not significant enough to warrant a suggested slower speed limit, the patrol said.

Records from the computer system on the bus’ engine indicate the bus was traveling 82 mph about 30 seconds before the bus came to a stop, according to the report. In the 15 to 23 seconds before the crash, the bus averaged 80 mph. A few seconds later, the data indicate Zimmerman took his foot off the gas. He hit the brakes about 10 to 12 seconds before the bus stopped, the report said.

The onboard computer showed that the bus had been traveling 84 mph less than two hours before the crash.

Schippers said Zimmerman repeatedly told him that “the bus just wouldn’t turn” as he approached the minor curve. Zimmerman told the officer that he cranked the steering wheel to the right and gave the bus a little gas in an effort to keep it on the roadway.

The wet roadway likely was a contributing factor to the accident, Schippers said. A light mist was falling when the bus crashed, although Schippers said he didn’t consider the road treacherous that day. The two-lane highway is frequented by cars and large trucks, and no others experienced similar problems.

Wallace County Sheriff Larry Townsend said shortly after the crash that speed did not appear to be a factor.

Zimmerman, the owner of Sunset Tours chartered bus company, has held a commercial motor vehicle license for 30 years, and Schippers said his driving record indicated no previous faults. Zimmerman was ticketed “for speed that is not considered reasonable or prudent.”