Survivors of a deadly Greyhound bus crash claim that the driver passed out just before the vehicle suddenly veered off I-70 in the Utah desert.
The New Year’s Eve accident tragically killed a teenage girl from Southern California.
A dozen of her fellow passengers were injured in the crash, some of them seriously.
Passengers were Yelling at Driver to “Wake Up” Before Crash
The Greyhound bus was travelling from Denver, Colorado to Las Vegas, Nevada, when it plunged into a steep ravine Sunday night. The front of the vehicle was crushed as it slammed into the desert floor, forcing passengers to escape through windows.
“The bus driver was knocked out,” Edgard Acevedo told Fox 13 in Salt Lake City. “I guess he didn’t hear anything that [another passenger] just said, like, ‘Hey man, wake up!”
“We thought we were going to die,” his wife, Tammara, said.
Teenager Tragically Died at Scene, as Seriously Injured Passengers Desperately Sought Help
A 13-year-old girl tragically died at the scene; her mother remains hospitalized with serious injuries.
Edgard Acevedo broke his arm in the crash. Tammara sustained a compound femur fracture. Yet despite her injuries, she was able to climb out a window and help her husband and another passenger from the bus.
As Tammara called 911, the trio made their way up the ravine to I-70, where they desperately attempted to flag down passing motorists. After 20 minutes, a truck and a car driven by Joseph Dorner stopped to help.
A paramedic, Dorner led the three panicked passengers to his car, were he and his wife provided water and and tried to make them comfortable.
He then walked to the mangled bus, where some passengers remained trapped.
“I could hear them making noises, moaning noises and stuff,” Dorner told Fox 13, “[I] reassured them, tell them, ‘We’ll do what we can, there’ll be help on the way.'”
Investigators Narrow Possible Causes to Driver Fatigue or a Possible Medical Episode
The Utah Highway Patrol believes driver fatigue or a possible medical episode may have led to Sunday’s tragedy.
Investigators have not yet been able to interview the driver, who remains hospitalized with a skull fracture.
They are hoping that video from an onboard surveillance camera and data from the vehicle’s computer will shed light on the accident.
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The #1 Largest Verdict in the History of Greyhound
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