HIGHWAY TO HELL
13 dead in bus crash outside Palm Springs
A tour bus slammed into the back of a semitrailer outside Palm Springs, Calif., early Sunday, killing 13 people and injuring at least 30 others, some critically.
The bus was going much faster than the truck, but it’s not yet clear if it was speeding on Interstate 10 just north of the desert resort town, Highway Patrol Border Division Chief Jim Abele said.
“The speed of the bus was so significant that the trailer itself entered about 15 feet into the bus,” he said at a news conference. “You can see it was a substantial impact.”
Police said it was not known if alcohol, drugs or fatigue played a role in the crash about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. The USA Holiday tour bus was returning to Los Angeles after a visit to the Red Earth Casino in Thermal, about 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs. The bus driver was killed, and the truck driver received minor injuries.
Passengers told officials that most people were asleep when the crash occurred at 5:17 a.m. Abele said he didn’t believe the 1996 bus had seat belts.
The bus was inspected in 2014, 2015 and this year and didn’t have any mechanical issues, Abele said. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration records show it had no crashes in the two years before Oct. 22 andd hadhd a cleanl safetyf record.d
The front of the bus had crumpled into the semi-truck’s trailer and debris was scattered across the highway. Firefighters used ladders to climb into the bus’ windows to remove bodies and tow trucks lifted the trailer to make it easier to reach the bus, whose ffront endd was ddemolished.li h d
Fourteen patients, including five in critical condition, were being treated at a Palm Spring hospital.
Eleven people with minor injuries were sent to a center in Rancho Mirage. Five more victims, also with minor injuries, were transferred to an Indio hospital.