Bus collides with sign pole in California leaving at least five dead
A t least five people were killed when a coach collided with a pole in California early on Tuesday morning.
At least thirty people were on board the coach when it swerved into the pole with a “superb influence” that pierced through its centre, almost slicing it in two.
Vern Warnke, the Merced County Sheriff, said the speeding bus hit a highway exit sign, and that rescuers at the scene had eliminated “bags of bod parts”. Emergency workers climbed in through the windows to pull out trapped passengers. Others were ejected and were lounging in a ditch, Warnke said.
The violent collision, which took place at Three:35 am local time, woke up Leonardo Sanchez, who found himself in chaos: Fellow passengers were screaming and howling. Some couldn’t budge, and many were calling out for help, he said.
“We couldn’t pull people out because there was shattered glass everywhere, seats demolished,” the Arvin, California, resident said.
M r Sanchez said he and others who were not severely hurt left the bus right away, fearing that it might catch fire. The 55-year-old said he was left with anguish in his belly and a bruised jaw and mouth.
In addition to the five killed at least five others were airlifted to hospitals, California Highway Patrol Officer Moises Onsurez said.
Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock received four crash victims. One was transferred to a Modesto hospital in serious condition, and three were treated and released, hospital spokeswoman Pennie Rorex said.
Authorities did not have information about any extra injuries or the cause of the single-vehicle crash.
“The pole went through the center of the bus, and that’s where the injuries were sustained,” Mr Onsurez said.
T he still-intact sign stuck out from the roof of the crumpled bus. Wreckage and debris including seat cushions, drink containers, pillows and a blanket were scattered in lanes and on the shoulder of the highway a few miles south of the town of Livingston.
Mr Onsurez identified the driver as Mario David Vasquez of the Los Angeles area, the Merced Sun-Star reported. The 57-year-old was among those with major injuries and was airlifted to a hospital, the newspaper said.
The bus operated by Autobuses Coordinados USA was heading to Washington state and was due in Livingston at 1:30 am to switch drivers, Warnke said. It was behind schedule and just a few miles from its stop when it crashed.
Calls to various telephone listings for the company went unanswered. Its counter at a Los Angeles depot was open, but nobody was present when an Associated Press reporter arrived mid-morning. A sign in Spanish advertised daily 7:30 pm departures to destinations up the West Coast to Washington.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration listed the carrier as having a “satisfactory” rating as of May 17. The bus was probed in April and had three violations, including a lack of or a defective brake warning device. That disturbance was not further described, and there was no indication whether each of the items had been immovable.
Some highway signs, like those listing the speed limit, have support poles designed with points that break away during a crash. But the poles supporting the much larger overhead signs are designed to “stay put,” said Vanessa Wiseman, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Transportation.
She said the pole involved in Tuesday’s crash had the required barrier – in this case, a guardrail – on the side facing lanes.
The highway runs through farm fields and almond orchards in the San Joaquin Valley northwest of Fresno. Its northbound lanes were closed during the investigation, backing up traffic for miles.