1 killed, 3 others injured in fiery crash that caused highway closure

One person was killed and north bound Highway 101 was closed for several hours early Saturday by a fiery five-vehicle wreck involving a charter bus in Brisbane, authorities said.

All lanes of Highway 101 reopened around 8:40 a.m. Saturday, according to the California Highway Patrol, after the freeway had been fully or partially shut down since the crash just before 12:45 a.m.

The chain-reaction crash happened near the Sierra Parkway exit in Brisbane and eventually involved five vehicles, including a chartered bus carrying members of a choir group from San Francisco International Airport, CHP Officer Bert Diaz said.

The crash apparently started when a tire blew out on a Ford Excursion driving in the second from the left lane, Diaz said. A Toyota Camry behind it slowed down but was rear-ended by a Volkswagen, which pushed the Camry into the Ford, forcing the SUV into the left lane.

That’s where it was struck moments later by the bus, Diaz said, which was in turn rear-ended by a Lincoln Navigator driven by a man in his 50s.

The bus and two of the cars caught fire and eventually became engulfed in flames, the CHP said. Video of the scene from KGO-TV, this news organization’s media partner, showed the bus and two cars badly burned.

The driver of the Lincoln was killed in the crash, Diaz said. Authorities have not released the man’s name.

The drivers of the three other cars involved in the crash were taken to Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, Diaz said. Their injuries, suffered from the collision, not the fire, are not believed to be life-threatening.

Crews examined the bus passengers — who were students and staff members from Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama — and found none suffered serious injuries.

The bus, from the San Francisco company Peninsula Tour, was taking the group to their hotel in Union Square, Diaz said.

Officials from Oakwood, a historically black Seventhday Adventist university, said there were 18 students and two staff members on the bus from the Aeolians choir, which was visiting the Bay Area to perform this weekend.

All northbound lanes of Highway 101 were closed until about 5 a.m., and three of the four lanes remained closed for several hours afterward.

Diaz said authorities are continuing to investigate the crash and have not determined whether alcohol or drugs may have been a factor.