At least one person was killed and 32 others were injured, including two critically, after a tour bus and a sport utility vehicle crashed on a Southern California freeway, authorities said.
The incident occurred just after 5 a.m. local time on May 11 on State Route 60 near Hacienda Heights, a suburban community about 22 miles east of downtown Los Angeles, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release. The fiery collision involved a tour bus and a Nissan SUV.
When California Highway Patrol officers and Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel arrived at the scene, authorities discovered the SUV “fully engulfed” in flames with the driver trapped inside. The fire did not spread to the bus.
The driver, whose identity is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, was the lone occupant of the SUV, authorities said. The county fire department pronounced the driver dead at the scene.
Thirty-two people, including two people who were in critical condition, were transported to local hospitals, the county fire department and California Highway Patrol announced. Of those injured, 26 people sustained minor injuries, according to the county fire department.
Crash under investigation
The preliminary investigation suggests that the SUV became disabled for unknown reasons and blocked a lane, according to the California Highway Patrol. The tour bus then collided with the rear of the SUV and caused the bus to veer to the right across all lanes before colliding with a guardrail on the right shoulder of State Route 60.
Videos shared by California Highway Patrol showed the bus leaning against the shoulder of the freeway with significant damage, including a shattered windshield at the front of the bus.
Some parts of the freeway were closed for hours due to the investigation. The area was later reopened at about 10:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol in the Santa Fe Springs area.
The California Highway Patrol noted that alcohol and drugs did not appear to be a factor in the crash. The incident remains under investigation.
