10 dead in Greyhound crash near Wiliams

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Monday, October 06, 2008

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By ASSOCIATED PRESS

WILLIAMS, Calif. — A charter bus en route to a casino overturned in north-central California on Sunday, killing 10 people and injuring several others.

California Highway Patrol officials said the crash happened around 6:10 p.m. on a rural road near the town of Williams — about 60 miles north of Sacramento — as the bus headed to Colusa Casino Resort from Sacramento.

California Highway Patrol Commander Fran Clader said Sunday night that 10 people were dead and estimated that 20 to 30 others were injured.

CHP dispatcher Terry Troth said the bus ran off the road and rolled over. No other vehicles appeared to be involved in the crash, he said.

Troth did not know the extent of the injuries, but he said the victims were being transported to several area hospitals, including Colusa Regional Medical Center and Enloe Medical Center in Chico.

Firefighters used flashlights to search the tall grass near the overturned bus, which lay in a ditch, Sunday night for more possible bodies. The bus, which was covered in mud, had a crumpled roof and broken windows.

Laura Hennum, a spokeswoman at Enloe Medical Center, told The Sacramento Bee that four patients in critical condition and two with serious injuries had been admitted.

Troth said emergency responders were having trouble communicating with the passengers because many of them were of Laotian descent.

7 comment(s)

laughingatthis wrote on Oct 6, 2008 6:44 AM:

" The Greyhound goes to the Indian Casino's????? I thought this bus was private owned by some other company.
My prayers go to the injured and for the familys that lost a loved one. "

109823 wrote on Oct 6, 2008 7:45 AM:

" It baffles me why there are laws that you have to wear a seat belt while riding in your car and yet buses, for the most part , don't even have them available to the passengers. I wonder how many lives lost or major injuries could have been prevented in this accident? "

GregN. wrote on Oct 6, 2008 7:49 AM:

" Perhaps this is what it will take to get the CHP and other law enforcement agencies to crack down on negligent bus drivers.

I know it doesn't say anywhere that the driver was at fault or anything; but it's been an observation of mine for the past couple years that these large busses are sometimes the vehicles driving the fastest of the freeways. 80-70-even 65 MPH is a wee-bit to fast for these top heavy things.

On top of this, I often see these things driving at those high rate of speeds weeving through traffic too.

RIP is those who succumed to this tradegy. "

Normbc9 wrote on Oct 6, 2008 8:51 AM:

" To help with this the bus was an old Greyhound unit sold to a private party who was operating it illegally. It diodn't have a current license, state required bus inspection nor vehicle safety chjecks required of fare paying passenger vehicles. Buses are not required to have seat belts. The operator was not licensed properly either. While tragic, many of these errant buses are on the road and are patronized by a specific group or riders who do not understand what the requirements are to operate such a ventur. I'll bet there was not adequate insurance either. CHP Major Acciodent Investigation Team (MAIT) is now finished with the accident scene work and has the bus under impound so the can thoroughly go through it to determine what actually did happen. "

lahrgsp wrote on Oct 6, 2008 8:56 AM:

" I too have seen these big buses going about 70 to 75 MPH!! They pass me and I think OMG they should not be traveling that fast. "

NUHS67 wrote on Oct 6, 2008 8:58 AM:

" The corrected death count is 8 and it was not a Greyhound. The driver has been arrested for DUI (medication). Almost every bus I have seen on the roadways is going way to fast and most all weave through traffic like idiots on motorcycles. The speed limit for buses should be 55 "

Listening wrote on Oct 6, 2008 10:12 AM:

" I believe you should change your headline. Grayhound claims it was not their bus that it had been sold two years earlier. "

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