Charter bus rollover kills 3, injures 18 outside San Diego
A charter bus swerved on a rain-slicked Southern California highway and rolled down an embankment Saturday, killing three persons and injuring 18 others, authorities said.
Several passengers were thrown from the bus, and among the dead was trapped beneath the vehicle after it landed on its roof soon after 10 a.m. off Interstate 15 in Pala Mesa, an unincorporated community about 45 miles (72 kilometers) north of NORTH PARK, North County Fire Protection District spokesman John Choi said.
"There have been no seat belts on this bus," Choi said. Another person who died was trapped inside bus, he added.
The wounded were taken up to three hospitals with varying injuries, Choi said.
A California Highway Patrol officer told the San Diego Union-Tribune thatone of the patients was in critical condition and three others suffered major injuries.
The bus driver suffered minor injuries and remained at the scene. He apparently swerved and lost control of the bus, Officer Mark Latulippe said.
The bus was going from LA to San Ysidro, the NORTH PARK neighborhood just north of the U.S.-Mexico border, the officer said. Passengers included adults and children.
Authorities have not released the name of the bus owner.
Rescue crews were concerned that the bus may slide farther down the embankment and had to secure the automobile before using ropes to pull up the victims to the roadside, Choi said. Crews planned to pull the bus from the embankment and recover your body pinned under it, he said.
The crash caused southbound traffic on I-15, a significant route connecting San Diego to inland parts of Southern California, to back up for miles.
