YUCAIPA, Calif.
(AP) -- At least eight people were killed and 38 injured Sunday when a
tour bus careened out of control while traveling down a Southern
California mountain road, struck a car, flipped and plowed into a pickup
truck, authorities said.
The accident
occurred around 6:30 p.m. about 80 miles east of Los Angeles and left
State Route 38 littered with debris, the bus sideways across the two
lanes and its front end crushed. Emergency crews worked to free
passengers who were trapped in the bus, which was returning to Tijuana,
Mexico, California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez said.
The
violence of the crash and severity of the injuries made for a chaotic
scene, and authorities had a difficult time determining how many people
were injured or killed. Lopez said at least eight and perhaps 10 were
dead, and 38 transported to hospitals.
California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Michelle Profant said the scene was shocking.
"It's really a mess up there with body parts," she said.
The
bus driver survived and told investigators the bus suffered brake
problems as it headed down the mountain, Lopez said. It rear-ended a
sedan and flipped, then struck a pickup truck pulling a trailer.
Lettering
on the bus indicated that it was operated by Scapadas Magicas LLC, a
company based in National City, Calif. Federal transportation records
show that the company is licensed to carry passengers for interstate
travel and that it had no crashes in the past two years.
A call to the company was not immediately returned.
Jordi
Garcia, a manager for InterBus Tours, said his company ran Sunday's
trip. He told U-T San Diego that 38 people departed Tijuana at 5 a.m.
for a day of skiing at Big Bear.
"The information that we have is that the bus' brakes failed and the accident occurred," he said.
Route
38 runs through the San Bernardino National Forest and leads to Big
Bear. The accident occurred as the bus was headed south and leaving the
forest.
Patients were taken to several area
hospitals with injuries ranging from minor to life-threatening. Among
them, Arrowhead Regional Medical Center said it had treated six people,
including two women who were discharged early Monday. The hospital said
two other women were in critical condition while two other patients were
stable.
The California crash comes less than a
day after a bus carrying 42 high school students and their chaperones
slammed into an overpass in Boston. Massachusetts state police said 35
people were injured and that the driver had directed the bus onto a road
with a height limit.
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