YUCAIPA, Calif. (AP) — At least eight people were killed and 38 injured Sunday when a bus carrying Mexican tourists careened out of control while traveling down a Southern California mountain road, struck a car, flipped and plowed into a pickup truck, authorities said.
The accident occurred around 6:30 p.m. and left State Route 38 littered with debris, the bus sideways across the two lanes and its front end crushed. Emergency crews worked to free passengers who were trapped in the bus, which was carrying a tour group from Tijuana.
The violence of the crash and severity of the injuries made for a chaotic scene, and authorities had a difficult time determining how many people were injured or killed. California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez said at least eight and perhaps 10 were killed, and 38 were transported to hospitals.
California Department of Transportation spokeswoman Michelle Profant said the scene was shocking.
“It’s really a mess up there with body parts,” she said.
The bus driver survived and told investigators the bus suffered brake problems as it headed down the mountain. It rear-ended a sedan and flipped, then struck a pickup truck pulling a trailer.
Lettering on the bus indicated that it was operated by Scapadas Magicas LLC, a company based in National City, Calif. Federal transportation records show that the company is licensed to carry passengers for interstate travel and that it had no crashes in the past two years.
A call to the company was not immediately returned.
Route 38 runs through the San Bernardino National Forest and leads to Big Bear, a popular area that’s home to a ski resort and other recreational locations. The accident occurred as the bus was leaving the forest.
Patients were taken to several area hospitals with injuries ranging from minor ro life-threatening.
The California crash comes less than a day after a bus carrying 42 high school students and their chaperones slammed into an overpass in Boston. Massachusetts state police said 35 people were injured and that the driver had directed the bus onto a road with a height limit.