Seven killed as truck hits Greyhound bus head-on

AT LEAST seven people have been killed in a head-on crash between a truck and a Greyhound bus on an interstate in New Mexico.

The truck blew a tyre, forcing it into oncoming traffic.

The impact sheared the front off the bus, which had 49 passengers and was travelling to Phoenix, Arizona, from Albuquerque.

At least nine passengers were being treated at the University of New Mexico Hospital last night. Their conditions were not known.

Passing motorists described a chaotic scene with passengers on the ground and people screaming.

Witness Eric Huff said the truck was upside down with its trailer “shredded to pieces” and the front of the Greyhound was smashed, with the seats jammed together.

Passing lorry driver Santos Soto said he saw people sobbing on the side of the road as bystanders tried to comfort them.

“I was really traumatised myself, because I’ve been driving about two years and I had never seen anything like that before,” Mr Soto said. “I’m a pretty strong person and I broke down and cried for at least 30 minutes.”

Crystal Booker, a spokeswoman for Greyhound, said: “We are fully co-operating with local authorities and will also complete an investigation of our own.”

New Mexico State Police and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.