2016 — Oct 23, Tour Bus runs into Semi, I-10, Indian Canyon near Palm Springs, CA– 13
–13 AP. “Authorities: Tire treads were below standard in fatal crash.” 10-25-2016.
–13 Fox News. “At least 13 people…dead in [CA] tour bus, semi-truck crash.” 10-13-2016.
–13 The Desert Sun, CA. “Investigators probe Calif. Tour bus crash that killed 13.” 10-23-2016.
Narrative Information
Oct 23, 12:23 PM PDT, Desert Sun: “At least 11 people are dead after a Los Angeles tour bus returning from a trip to a Thermal casino collided with a big rig on westbound Interstate 10 near Palm Springs Sunday morning…. All westbound lanes of I-10 are closed at Indian Canyon following the crash that was first reported just after 5 a.m., and traffic is being diverted off I-10 at Indian Canyon.
“The tour bus had smashed into the rear of the big rig, and the front of the bus was enveloped by the big rig’s trailer. Dozens of firefighters swarmed the scene, struggling to reach victims. They used chainsaws to break open the vehicle and make their way into its front, even though it was clear there was barely any room to fit inside….The big rig driver was unhurt….
“The tour bus belonged to USA Holiday, a Los Angeles-based tour company, and Hamilton said the driver was one of the company’s owners.
“A passenger who was treated at Desert Regional for minor injuries said the tour bus had started in Los Angeles, traveled to Red Earth Casino in Thermal, and was making its return trip Sunday morning. USA Holiday regularly carries passengers from the Los Angeles area to Southern California casinos….
“Poet Aleman, who lives in the Coachella Valley, was driving west on I-10 around 5 a.m. when traffic came to a sudden halt. From her vantage point, she said it looked like the big rig had tried to merge into the lane the passenger bus was using. “The whole front of the bus up to about the second or third row of seats was completely crushed into the left rear side of the semi truck,” Aleman told The Desert Sun. “By the time I got there, there were at least a dozen firefighters climbing into the passenger bus pulling people out.”
Oct 23, 16:56 PM PDT, Desert Sun: “Palm Springs, Calif. — Investigators in southern California were trying to determine why a tour bus plowed into the back of a tractor-trailer truck on Interstate 10 early Sunday, killing 13, including the bus driver…. CHP Border Division Chief Jim Abele said the cause of accident wasn’t clear and that investigators “may not determine how the accident occurred” because the bus driver was killed. But he said the bus was going significantly faster than the truck at the time of the crash.
Oct 23, Fox News: “….California Highway Patrol Officer Stephanie Hamilton said “There are approximately 31 passengers on the bus that were transported [to local hospitals] with minor to serious injuries.”…. The Palm Springs hospital treated 14 patients, five in critical condition, three in serious condition and six with minor injuries. Palm Springs houses the valley’s only trauma center, The Desert Sun Reported. All patients were adults….
“The bus was en route to Los Angeles from the Red Earth Casino in Salton City, when the accident occurred….”
Oct 24, 8:58 AM PDT, Desert Sun: “Thirteen people died Sunday morning after a tour bus slammed into the back of a big rig on Interstate 10 near Palm Springs while returning to Los Angeles from a casino near the Salton Sea.
“None of their names have been released, but they were described early Monday as 10 women and three men, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s office….
“They were believed to be sleeping when the bus collided with the tractor-trailer truck shortly after 5 a.m., CHP Chief Jim Abele said at a news conference Sunday. “It was a substantial impact,” Abele said, explaining that the bus plowed 15 feet into the back of the truck.
“The bus, which had 43 passengers, was on its way back from Red Earth Casino in Salton Sea Beach and its driver was among those killed, Abele said. All victims were adults, the chief described the survivors’ injuries as minor to moderate…
“Abele said officials haven’t determined why the bus was traveling at a much faster speed than the truck. It’s also unclear whether drugs or alcohol were involved, or whether fatigue was a factor. He said a maintenance crew had slowed down traffic on Interstate 10 before the vehicles crashed just north of Palm Springs. According to Abele, work had gone smoothly for hours….
“Abele did not give the nationalities of the victims, but said authorities were in contact with consular officials of Mexico, Japan and Australia and that most of the passengers were Latino. He said authorities have struggled to identify some of the passengers and contact their families, partly because some of them were not carrying “valid” identification….
“Red Earth Casino is a small casino in remote Imperial County operated by the Torres-Martinez Desert Cahuilla Indians. It sits beside Highway 86, a two-lane road that traces the Salton Sea to the U.S.-Mexico border, and often functions as a truck stop and convenience store as well.”
Oct 25, AP: “Palm Springs, Calif. (AP) — The tread on four of the eight tires on a tour bus that slammed into a truck and killed 13 people on Interstate 10 were below government standards, an official said Tuesday, though the cause of one of California’s deadliest vehicle crashes remained unclear. “Based on tire conditions, this vehicle was out of compliance … and could have been placed out of service,” Earl Weener, a board member of the National Transportation Safety Board, said at a news conference in Palm Desert near the site of the Sunday crash that also injured 31 people.
“The disclosure came a day after a California Highway Patrol official said there was no indication that the bus driver, Teodulo Elias Vides, applied his brakes before striking the truck that was creeping along at 5 mph because of road work in the area. Vides, 59, owned USA Holiday and was listed as its only driver, according to federal and state records…. Vides had a valid commercial license and a clean record in recent years. The bus had passed annual inspections….
“The NTSB planned to look into the history of the bus, its owner-driver and other circumstances such as what Vides was doing during the four to five hours the bus was at the Red Earth Casino in the desert town of Thermal before making the 135-mile trip back to Los Angeles….” (AP/ Elliot Spagat and Julie Watson. “Authorities: Tire treads were below standard in fatal crash.” Tucson.com, 10-25-2016.)
Sources
Associated Press (Elliot Spagat and Julie Watson). “Authorities: Tire treads were below standard in fatal crash.” Tucson.com, 10-25-2016. Accessed 10-25-2016 at: http://tucson.com/news/national/authorities-tire-treads-were-below-standard-in-fatal-crash/article_43568c4c-f63e-5948-87d9-e8a548c15472.html
Fox News. “At least 13 people reported dead in California tour bus, semi-truck crash.” 10-13-2016. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/10/23/3-dead-in-california-tour-bus-semi-truck-collision.html
The Desert Sun, (Colin Atagi and Rosalie Murphy), Palm Springs, CA. “Investigators probe Calif. Tour bus crash that killed 13.” 10-23-2016. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.krem.com/ext/news/nation-now/at-least-11-dead-after-tour-bus-truck-crash-in-calif/293/nationnow/QWvjTylnygC8yyUIikCS8
The Desert Sun (Colin Atagi and Rosalie Murphy), Palm Springs, CA. “Tour bus crash in California kills at least 11, closes I-10,” 10-23-2016, 12:03 PM PDT. Accessed 10-23-2016 at: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2016/10/23/least-three-dead-after-interstate-10-bus-crash/92641620/
The Desert Sun (Colin Atagi and Rosalie Murphy), Palm Springs, CA. “Tour bus crash in California kills 13, closes I-10.) 10-24-2016, 8:58 AM PDT. Accessed 10-24-2016 at: http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2016/10/23/least-three-dead-after-interstate-10-bus-crash/92641620/