Deadly crash nailed a bus filled with students
ORLAND, California (AP) — Yesterday, a FedEx tractor-trailer crossed a grassy freeway median in Northern California and slammed into a bus carrying high school students on a visit to a college.
Authorities said at least nine were killed in the tragic crash.
Massive flames could be seen devouring both vehicles just after the crash, and clouds of smoke billowed into the sky until firefighters had quenched the fire, leaving behind scorched black hulks of metal. Bodies were draped in blankets inside the burned-out bus.
CHP Officer - Lacy Heitman - said the driver of the tractor-trailer was one of the dead victims.
The crash happened a little after 5:30 p.m. on Interstate 5 near Orland, a small city about 100 miles north of Sacramento.
Steven Clavijo, a student at West Ranch High School in Santa Clarita, told The Associated Press that he was a passenger of the crashed bus.
He was trying to get some sleep in his seat in the back of the bus, he then he felt the vehicle shake from left to right.
"I just heard this loud boom", he said. "We knew we were in major trouble".
Many escaped through a window that someone had kicked open, running before hearing an explosion and seeing the bus explode.
The bus was owned by a tour bus company based in San Luis Obisbo. The company said in a statement on its website, yesterday night, that it was assisting authorities in gathering information.
"Our top priority is making sure that the injured are being cared for", Silverado Stages said.
Humboldt State spokesman Simon Chabel said: "There is still a lot of information to be gathered, and we are working as hard as we can to gather that information and communicate it as best as we can to parents and other family members during this terrible tragedy".
Sabrina Garcia said she decided to postpone the tour because she had a school project to complete.
"I was devastated when I heard about the crash, and relieved that I didn't attend", she said. "I can't imagine how those kids feel. You think you're going somewhere safe with your school — and you end up in an accident".
A first responder who helped set up a triage at the scene said 36 or 37 people received injuries ranging from severe to minor burns, broken legs and noses and head lacerations.
"The victims were teenage kids. A lot of them were freaked out. They were shocked. They still couldn't grasp what happened", Jason Wyman with the Orland Volunteer Fire Department said. "The first victim that was taken out of the bus was severely burned", Wyman added.
A nursing supervisor said three people were taken to Oroville Hospital in Oroville. She declined to describe their conditions, citing patient privacy laws.
Bonnie Kourvelas, a FedEx spokeswoman, said in a statement Thursday night: "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the tragic accident on I-5 in California. We are cooperating fully with authorities as they investigate".
