As previously reported, the said tour bus traveling down in Southern California mountain road en route to Tijuana, Mexico lost its control, slammed into a car and then flipped, then plowed a pick-up truck.
Initially, seven people were reportedly killed from the incident while 38 were injured including children. However, recent reports updated the death toll to eight, and some of the injured victims still remain in critical condition.
As a result of the crash’s impact, some people were ejected from the bus while several were trapped. The driver of the bus survived but was injured, while the driver of the pick-up truck later succumbed to death, the authorities said.
Firefighters and rescue personnel including the California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers, Caltrans officials, paramedics and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) were immediately dispatched at the scene. Unfortunately, the severity of the wreckage made it difficult for them to extricate all the injured. In fact, in a statement released by the Caltrans spokesperson, Michelle Profant, she told media sources that the scene was really messed up with body parts.
Following the accident, during an interview, the driver of the bus claimed that the bus suffered brake problems as it was heading down the mountain that is why it rear ended a car and flipped and then struck a pick-up truck.
Meanwhile, authorities are also considering speed as a factor. Additionally, they are also eyeing on road conditions and possible driver error or fatigue as contributing causes in the fatal crash.
Based on the initial findings gathered by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), it revealed that the tour bus is operated by Scapadas Magicas LLC, a company based in National City, California. Nevertheless, the Federal transportation records show that the company is licensed to carry passengers for interstate level and that it had no recorded crashes in the past two years.
Further investigation revealed that the tour bus was on a trip organized by InterBus Tours for families from Tijuana, Mexico for a day of skiing in Big Bear when the accident occurred.
Incidentally, bus accidents only account for a small percentage on all vehicle accidents in the United States. However, it such road misfortune occur, it absolutely result into series injuries and death, particularly for other motorists riding in smaller vehicles, noted by a Los Angeles personal injury lawyer.
