California probes cause of crash that killed 13 people
OFFICIALS LOOK AT WHETHER SLEEP, HEART ATTACK OR SUBSTANCE ABUSE WERE FACTORS
They had spent the night at a casino near the Salton Sea, so many of the passengers had fallen asleep as the USA Holiday tour bus rumbled west on the 10 Freeway on the way home to Los Angeles.
Before dawn, they were jolted awake by screams and a grinding cacophony of metal on metal.
Thirteen people were killed and 31 others injured on Sunday morning when the bus crashed into a big rig truck near Palm Springs, officials said.
Federal and local investigators are probing the cause of the crash, the deadliest in California in several decades.
The bus slammed into the back of the truck’s trailer, crushing the front third of the cabin. Most of those who died appeared to have been sitting toward the front of the bus.
“I was awakened by the sounds of people screaming for help,” said passenger Ana Car, 61. “I noticed a heavyset woman lying in the centre aisle to my right yelling, ‘My legs! My legs!’”
The crash occurred at 5.17am on Sunday in Desert Hot Springs as the bus headed back to Los Angeles from a casino in Thermal near the Salton Sea.
CHP officers in marked patrol cars had been periodically slowing and stopping traffic along that stretch of the 10 Freeway overnight for a Southern California Edison crew that was working on electrical wires that crossed over the roadway.
Traffic had begun to move again before the collision, Sgt. Daniel Hesser said, but speeds were much slower than the typical freeway flow.
The front of the white tour bus was crumpled and largely destroyed, suggesting the bus was travelling much faster than the truck, officials said. They cautioned that it was too early to say whether the bus driver, who died in the crash, was speeding.
Police and rescuers came across a horrific scene of destruction. “In almost 35 years, I’ve never been to a crash where there’s been 13 confirmed [fatalities],” said California Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Jim Abele. “It’s tough ... you never get used to this.”
No seat belts
By noon, the remains of the bus had been towed away. Carpeted seats and passengers’ purses and backpacks had been cleared from the road. Officials said the bus did not have seat belts. As a result, some of the victims suffered facial injuries involving soft tissue and bones and may require plastic surgery, said Dr. Ricard Townsend at Desert Regional Medical Centre.
Investigators will look at whether the driver fell asleep, had a heart attack or was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Abele said. They will also investigate the possibility of a mechanical failure.
Authorities hope to recover a data recorder that would reveal how fast the bus was travelling and whether the driver braked before impact. The bus, manufactured in 1996, may not have one on board, officials said.