Early Monday afternoon, San Bernardino County Fire responded to a traffic collision with injuries on Highway 58 east of Highway 395 near Kramer Junction, according to a department news release. Callers advised that the accident involved a bus and two other vehicles.
San Bernardino County Fire Fighters arrived on scene to discover a charter bus and two passenger vehicles off the roadway on the north side of Highway 58. All three vehicles appeared to have rolled over at least once. With the first priority of triaging the victims to get an accurate patient count, firefighters ultimately determined that nine patients were classified as Immediate, or having life-threatening injuries; seventeen patients were delayed, suffering from non-life threatening injuries, and one patient was deceased.
The Associated Press reported that California Highway Patrol Officer Brian Benson said the woman who was killed was 55 years old and was in one of the two cars the bus hit.
The AP also reports, Benson said the bus, owned by Arcadia, California-based A&F Tours Inc., seats about 30 passengers. The company didn't respond to a message seeking comment. The company's vehicles have been inspected 22 times in the last two years, and a vehicle was taken out of service during one of the inspections, according to U.S. Department of Transportation records. The company did not report any crashes in the last two years, the records showed. Duane DeBruyne, a spokesman for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, said the agency would assist in a post-crash assessment, including an examination of both the vehicle and the bus company's safety record
San Bernardino County Department reported that as additional units arrived on scene, firefighters were able to extricate one trapped victim from a vehicle and begin treating and stabilizing the patients.