4 killed in truck, bus accident on I-10 near Ariz. border

4 killed in truck, bus accident on I-10 near Ariz. border

Four people were killed Wednesday morning and several others were hospitalized after a crash involving a passenger bus and big rig on a freeway near the Southern California border with Arizona, according to the California Highway Patrol.

All lanes on the 10 Freeway in the Blythe area are closed for the crash investigation, which might continue until at least early Wednesday afternoon, according to Caltrans officials.

Thirty-two people were aboard the bus, which was traveling from El Paso to Los Angeles. The El Paso-Los Angeles Limousine Express bus stopped in Phoenix prior to the crash for a driver change, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash was reported at about 2 a.m., just east of the community of Blythe about 220 miles east of Los Angeles. A preliminary investigation indicated the eastbound big rig jack-knifed and scattered a load of steel pipes on both sides of the desert freeway, according to Caltrans.

Four vehicles were involved in the initial crash before the bus driver swerved to avoid the pipes, said Caltrans spokeswoman Terri Kasinga. The bus ended up on its side about 50 feet off the shoulder of the westbound side of the road, according to authorities.

The freeway was expected to remain closed for several hours.

Details regarding the conditions of the hospitalized victims were not immediately available. Kasinga said "many people" were transported to hospitals after the collision.

 

From the accounts I've read my understanding is the truck jackknifed and spilled its load into his side of the road as he was driving by - not like it happened an hour beforehand and he just came across pipe sitting in the road. Also we don't know the size of the pipe. So you figure at 2 am all of the sudden a load of pipe is bouncing at him head-on - yeah, I can't fault him for reacting.

Also gotta wonder: what if he rolls over the pipe? Again, depends on the size but couldn't that send him off the road as well? I'm not a driver so I can't make an educated guess on that...