COLUSA, Calif. - A motorcoach driver pleaded not guilty late last month to manslaughter and unsafe driving charges in a county superior court here.

Quintin Joey Watts, 53, was the driver in a charter bus crash near Williams, Calif., that killed 11 people and injured more than 30 others in October.

Watts pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of vehicular manslaughter.

The bus Watts was driving was headed for Colusa Casino Resort when it veered off rural the road, violently flipping, ejecting a dozen passengers and plowing into waist-deep mud in a ditch near a rice field.

The bus, operated by Cobb Bus Service, was carrying passengers from the Sacramento area, many of them elderly Hmong and Mien immigrants. Also onboard was company owner Daniel Cobb, 68, who was killed in the crash. Cobb was Watts' stepfather.

Watts entered his plea over the objections of his court-appointed attorney, Albert Smith.

According to the Colusa Sun-Herald, Smith asked Judge Jeffrey A. Thompson to delay Watts plea entry to allow the defense time to examine more closely a 930-page report on the crash released in February by the California Highway Patrol.

"This could easily take several months," Smith told the court.

According to the newspaper, Watts demanded that another attorney be appointed to defend him.

District Attorney John Poyner said that Watts "has an attitude right now. I don't blame him, really. Hes looking down at some pretty serious stuff."

The California Highway Patrol arrested Watts at the time of the crash on suspicion of driving under the influence. Toxicology reports, however, showed he was neither drunk nor under the influence drugs.

The highway patrol said Watts was struggling to stay awake at the time of the crash. In a jail interview last month, Watts expressed remorse.

If convicted of all counts, Watts could face nearly 20 years in prison.