13 die when California tour bus rear-ends truck
UNITED STATES: Thirteen people died and 31 others were injured yesterday when a tour bus collided with a big-rig truck on the Interstate 10 near Palm Springs, California, officials said.
The bus, operated by USA Holiday, slammed into a truck at 5.17am (local time), said Jim Abele, a chief with the California Highway Patrol. The driver of the bus was among the dead, he said
Identities of other victims, as well as survivors, are still unknown, ‘‘largely due to the swift extraction and immediate triage that they needed’’, Abele said.
The front of the tour bus was crumpled inward and the back of the truck trailer was destroyed.
Firefighters used ladders to climb into the bus to search for bodies and survivors.
By noon, the tour bus had been hauled away, and workers swept and carried debris from the road. Several bus seats that had been scattered on the road were taken away. Nearby, an official packed purses and backpacks into brown paper bags.
Bodies that had lined the side of the road in white bags were removed, two at a time, in a slow procession of coroner’s vans.
More than three dozen people were on the bus, which may have been returning from the Red Earth Casino near the Salton Sea.
Desert Regional Medical Centre, which has the Coachella Valley’s only trauma centre, received 14 adult patients, including five who were in critical condition. Eisenhower Medical Centre received 11 adult patients, all with minor injuries. John F Kennedy Memorial Hospital received five adult patients with minor injuries.
Bus operator USA Holiday is an Alhambra, California-based company that owns one bus and employs one driver, according to federal records.
According to FreightConnect, a private data provider, USA Holiday was last inspected by federal transportation officials in April of last year and received a satisfactory rating.
No issues with the coach or driver were reported by inspectors. - LA Times