PALM SPRINGS, California — At least 13 people have died after a tour bus hit a semi-truck on a thoroughfare in Palm Springs, officials said Sunday
Dozens of others were injured following the crash on the westbound lanes of Interstate 10 at Indian Canyon just after 5 a.m. on Sunday, according to CBS Palm Springs affiliate KESQ.
Ron Beverly, the deputy chief of the Palm Springs Fire Department, said the truck driver survived the crash, and at least 31 people were transported to area hospitals.
The incident has prompted authorities to shut the westbound lanes of the freeway.
“At this time, we know that there are multiple fatalities. We can’t give an amount because that number is going to change,” said Officer Stephanie Hamilton with the California Highway Patrol. “There are approximately 31 passengers on the bus that were transported with minor to serious injuries.”
The cause of the crash is not yet known. The bus may have been coming from Red Earth Casino, near the Salton Sea, the CHP said. Hamilton said the driver was one of the owners of the tour bus company, Los Angeles-based USA Holiday.
The company has one vehicle and one driver, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Records on the agency’s website show it had no crashes and one inspection in the two years before Oct. 22 and had a satisfactory safety rating.
A phone and Facebook message left for the company was not immediately returned. Its Facebook page has postings about trips leaving the Los Angeles area to casinos around the Coachella Valley and Las Vegas.
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