The company had no unsafe driving or controlled substances violations based on a 24-month record ending on Oct. 26, 2012.

Hernan Garcia, who works at the airport guiding cruise ship tourists to buses taking them to the port, said: “It’s clear that the driver was not familiar with the airport. There are designated routes for these type of buses and it is prohibited to speed in this area.”

Among the arriving tourists who came upon the crash scene was youngster Edwin Aparicio of Bogotá. “Wow, like a can of sardines,” he said in Spanish, referring to the top of the bus, sheered back by the overpass.

Sweetwater Mayor Manny Maroño happened to be in the airport Saturday morning, flying in from a conference in Boston an hour after the crash.

“I saw the bus and wondered how the accident happened,” said Maroño, whose family had to pick him up in the departures section to bypass the crash scene. “My thoughts and prayers are with those families. These were people who were on their way to a place to further their faith.”

Back at the Kingdom Hall in Sweetwater Saturday night, Himdley Llopez, 45, was waiting anxiously for his wife Miriam Suarez, who was on one of the other two buses that went to the general assembly. When she arrived, he hugged her tightly.

“We have been married for over a decade,” Llopez said in Spanish. “It’s a relief to see her. If something would have happened to her it would have been devastating.”

Manuel Lacayo, 14, of Coral Park Senior High, arrived at the West Palm Beach assembly in one of the buses. He said when the thousands of people gathered there heard the news of the crash, they offered tearful prayers.

“They were something special to all of us,” Lacayo said. “We are very religious, so as a Jehovah’s Witness we see this as a work of the devil.”

Miami Herald staff writers Alexandra Leon and Anthony Cave, and staff photographer Peter Andrew Bosch contributed to this story.