Yucaipa, California – A devastating bus crash on a mountain road in Southern California left at least eight people dead—and possibly up to ten—and injured more than 30 others Sunday evening, according to authorities.
The incident occurred around 6:30 p.m. along State Route 38, approximately 80 miles east of Los Angeles, when a tour bus lost control while descending a steep section of the highway. The bus collided with a sedan, overturned, and then slammed into a pickup truck. The crash left the road strewn with wreckage and the bus lying sideways, its front end crushed.
Mario Lopez, spokesperson for the California Highway Patrol, said the confirmed death toll stood at eight but could rise as the San Bernardino County Coroner’s Office continued to recover bodies from the wreckage and the roadway. Some victims had been ejected from the vehicle, their bodies covered with yellow tarps.
“Preliminary information indicates that speed played a role in the crash,” Lopez said. He noted that investigators are working to determine whether mechanical failure or human error caused the wreck. The bus driver survived and reported that the brakes had failed during the descent.
Authorities had not yet retrieved a passenger list from inside the bus, complicating efforts to identify the victims.
The bus was reportedly on its way back to Tijuana, Mexico, after a day trip to Big Bear, said Lopez. It had struck the rear of a Saturn sedan before hitting a Ford pickup truck. One occupant of the pickup was injured, and the status of the sedan’s passengers remained unclear.
Michelle Profant, spokesperson for the California Department of Transportation, described the crash site as horrific. “It’s an overwhelming scene—there are body parts everywhere,” she said.
The vehicle was marked as belonging to Scapadas Magicas LLC, a transportation company based in National City, California. Federal records show the company had a valid license for interstate travel and no reported crashes in the last two years. Attempts to reach the company for comment were unsuccessful.
Jordi Garcia, a manager at InterBus Tours, stated that his company organized the trip. He told U-T San Diego that 38 passengers left Tijuana early that morning for a ski outing at Big Bear. “What we’ve been told is that the brakes failed, leading to the accident,” Garcia said.
The collision occurred as the bus was traveling southbound out of the San Bernardino National Forest on Route 38.
Victims were transported to multiple local hospitals, suffering injuries ranging from cuts and fractures to critical trauma. Arrowhead Regional Medical Center reported two women in critical condition, two in stable condition, and two others discharged by Monday morning. Redlands Community Hospital treated six patients—one in critical condition, others with minor to moderate injuries. Loma Linda Medical Center was caring for five individuals, including two minors in critical and fair condition, and three adults with varying injuries.
This tragedy came less than 24 hours after a separate bus crash in Boston, where a group of high school students and chaperones collided with an overpass, injuring 35 people after the bus driver took a restricted road.
Source: Statesboro Herald
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