YUCAIPA: Multiple people killed in Hwy 38 bus crash - Press-Enterprise

At least eight to 10 people were killed and 15 suffered life-threatening injuries when a tour bus with brake problems rolled over on Highway 38 north of Yucaipa on Sunday, Feb. 3.

"It was a devastating accident," California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez said.

The bus, which had originated in Tijuana, was on its way down the hill from Big Bear when it crashed about 6:30 p.m. on a mildly steep downgrade just east of Bryant Street, Caltrans and CHP officials said.

The driver told the CHP that he was having brake problems and rear-ended a Saturn, agency spokesman Mario Lopez said. The bus overturned, then landed back on its wheels, ejecting passengers as it rolled.

Either before or during the rollover, the bus hit a Ford pickup or SUV that was towing a small cargo trailer, Lopez said.

Witness Matt Weisfeld told KTLA Channel 5 that he saw the bus coming down the hill going very fast, passing cars with smoke coming from the wheel area.

In all, 38 of the 43 people in the vehicles were taken to hospitals with injuries.

Medics quickly identified those with life-threatening injuries and transported them to area hospitals first.

At the scene late Sunday, the injured still waiting to be taken down the hill were seated on a red tarp that firefighters had laid down in the middle of Highway 38. Three survivors were covered by yellow tarps off the side of the road to keep them warm. Lots of personal belongings were strewn along the road.

Multiple fire agencies responded to the scene, and emergency workers were going methodically about their work. A dozen investigators worked between the bus and the trailer that broke loose from the Ford.

Hours after the crash, Highway 38 remained closed for several miles around the accident. Investigators were expected to work through the night and into Monday morning.

Arrowhead Regional Medical Center officials said four adult women, one in critical condition, were been brought there. Loma Linda University Medical Center officials said it had five patients, three adults and two children; a male adult and a female child were in critical condition.

The Mexican government sent Carolina Zaragoza, the consul of Mexico for San Bernardino and Riverside Counties, to the scene. Zaragoza was gathering information from the CHP and said the consulate was sending employees to hospitals to see if there were any Mexican citizens.

The bus is from Scapadas Magicas LLC, a company registered with the U.S. Department of Transportation as being located in National City, Calif. According to DOT records, the company has a satisfactory safety rating, and had no reported crashes in the previous 24 months.

Bloomberg News reported Scapadas was cited for three dozen safety violations over the past year, federal records show.

Scapadas scored worse than three-fourths of U.S. bus companies in terms of bus maintenance, according to the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's website, Bloomberg reported.

Published reports linked the bus to InterBUS Tours, a Tijuana-based company.

A statement in Spanish on InterBUS' Facebook page expressing deep regret over the accident. The statement said InterBUS is working with authorities and the Mexican consulate to assist victims' families.

The company declined to release a passenger list until it gathered more details.

InterBUS' Facebook page, which is written entirely in Spanish, contained ads for excursions to Big Bear, Las Vegas and Knott's Berry Farm among other destinations.

Contributing to this report: Staff writers John Asbury, jasbury@pe.com and Jeff Horseman, jhorseman@pe.com.