PALM SPRINGS: 13 dead, 31 injured in early morning tour bus accident
UPDATE: 10/23/2016 2 p.m.
At least 13 passengers were killed and more than 30 were injured in a bus accident on the 10 Freeway near Palm Springs Sunday, Oct. 23.
PALM SPRINGS, CA — 13 people were killed and as many as 31 victims were injured in a tour bus crash on the Interstate 10 Freeway north of Palm Springs just before sunrise Sunday morning, Oct. 23.
The bus smashed into the back of a tractor-trailer semi-truck, according to CHP and fire officials.
By late Sunday morning, CHP officials confirmed 13 people aboard the bus were killed in the crash.
According to California Highway Patrol officials, the crash happened at 5:17 a.m. on the westbound side of the freeway, west of N. Indian Canyon Drive. CHP officials closed all westbound lanes of the 10 Freeway and traffic was being diverted off the freeway at the N. Indian Canyon Drive off ramp. It was not yet known when lanes would reopen.
Firefighters from multiple stations and areas, who were treating the accident as a mass casualty event, used ladders to gain access into the mangled wreckage of the passenger compartment of the bus. Witnesses at the scene said the first several rows of seats were destroyed in the accident.
Firefighters used ladders to gain access into the destroyed bus.
“The intrusion into the bus compartment is significant,” according to CHP officer Stephanie Hamilton.
The trailer of the big-rig entered the passenger compartment of the bus about 15 feet. The majority of those killed in the accident were sitting in front of the bus.
The tour bus was owned and operated by USA Holiday, an Alhambra-based company that owns one bus and employs one driver. The bus has been described by CHP officials as a 1999 MCI. It was not equipped with seat belts.
It was not yet known if the driver of the bus, reportedly one of the owners of the small tour bus company, survived the accident.
In recent months, USA Holiday has used social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram to advertise trips from the Southeast Los Angeles and the San Fernando Valley areas to casinos throughout Southern California. With advertised fares as low as $20 per trip, passengers could stay at advertised casinos for four and a half hours before returning to the Los Angeles area the following morning.
CHP MAIT investigators responded to the deadly accident to conduct an investigation into the cause of the collision.
More than three dozen people were on the bus at the time of the collision, which had reportedly left the Red Earth Casino in Salton City and was en route to a location in Los Angeles when the crash was reported to CHP.
As of the last update, 31 people had been taken by ground ambulances to at least three different hospitals across the Coachella Valley. The driver of the truck also suffered injuries and was taken to an area hospital for treatment.
The Coachella Valley’s only trauma center, Desert Regional Medical Center, received 14 adult patients, including five victims who were listed in critical condition.
Eisenhower Medical Center received 11 adult patients, all with minor injuries, and John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital received five adult patients, all with minor injuries.
A CHP MAIT investigator surveys and documents the scene of the deadly accident.
By Sunday afternoon, blanket-covered bodies were still lined along the side of the freeway awaiting transportation to the coroner’s office as firefighters continued to search the wreckage for additional victims.
Investigators from CHP’s Multi-Disciplinary Accident Investigation Team were on scene conducting an investigation into the deadly accident.
A preliminary investigation revealed the bus was traveling at “a significant speed,” much faster than the truck it collided into, a CHP official stated during a press conference.
Just before noon, the National Transportation Safety Board announced they were sending a team of investigators to the scene of the deadly crash.
Anyone with information about the fatal collision or who witnessed the accident is encouraged to contact CHP officials from the Indio area station at (760) 772-8911. Callers can remain anonymous.
NTSB launching Go Team to Desert Hot Springs, Calif., motor coach accident.
— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) October 23, 2016
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Trevor Montgomery spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including the Robert Presley Detention Center, the Southwest Station in Temecula, the Hemet Station, and the Lake Elsinore Station, along with many other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, Personnel and Background Investigations and he finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator.
Trevor has been married for more than 26 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.