http://www.pe.com/localnews/stories/PE_News_Local_D_webbuscrash.17812b0ab.html
1 dead in mountain bus crash
04:47 PM PST on Monday, February 21, 2011
The Press-Enterprise
Bus crash flyover map
A bus with children aboard has rolled down an enbankment in Crestline.
Published: 2/21/2011 01:11 PM
At least one person has died in a church bus crash that has injured roughly two dozen teens in the San Bernardino Mountains, according to the California Highway Patrol website and fire officials at the scene.
Eight of the people injured in the late morning bus crash are at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, three in critical condition, hospital officials said.
Extra beds were brought into the Colton hospital's emergency room, and staff has been rearranged to handle the trauma injuries, nursing administrator Joy Flint said.
No additional workers were called in, she said, but the hospital was "just going into high gear."
An area has also been cleared to provide space for family members showing up at the hospital.
Two of the injured remained in surgery, Flint said.
Ten of the injured, five adults and five youngsters, were taken to Loma Linda University Medical Center, hospital spokeswoman Briana Pastorino said. The conditions of the 10 were unavailable.
At mid-day, the emergency room was bustling, with about a dozen ambulances parked outside the entryway. Numerous firefighters were also milling about.
Some people seeking medical care unrelated to crash were leaving Loma Linda untreated.
The coroner was summoned at 1:28 p.m. to the crash site along Highway 189 near Lake Gregory Drive, just north of Highway 18 and southeast of Lake Gregory in Crestline.
Cal Fire spokesman Bill Peters said by phone from the scene that he believed the bus was a church group.
"It says 'Light of Love Mission Church,' " Peters said shortly before 1:40 p.m.
A call to the Light of Love Mission Church in Pasadena has not been returned.
"It looks like its Korean from some of the letters on the side."
The bus contained 27 teens and young adults and was headed toward San Bernardino, he said.
It reportedly crashed head-on with an off-duty fire chief, though it's unclear what fire agency the battalion chief is employed by. Peters said no Cal Fire chief was involved in the crash.
Assigned to the crash: 11 ambulances, four helicopters and nine fire engines.
"And they're all getting used," Peters said.
A CHP officer at the scene said at least 10 persons had been pinned under seats.
"There are multiple serous injuries," said San Bernardino County sheriff's Lt. Rick Ells. "They're still pulling people out. So they don't know if any are fatal."
"It's pretty chaotic," Ells said.
Highway 189 is closed.
—RICHARD BROOKS
rbrooks@PE.com
—DUG BEGLEY
dbegley@PE.com
BRIAN ROKOS
brokos@PE.com
LORA HINES
lhines@PE.com
Bus crash victims removed from the scene as more details emerge about accident
February 21, 2011 | 4:19 pm
More than two dozen people involved in the fatal church bus accident near Twin Peaks have been taken from the scene to hospitals, San Bernardino County authorities said.
One person was killed in the accident that occurred about 11:50 a.m. Monday as the bus was traveling westbound down a steep and slippery Highway 189, said Officer Mario Lopez of the California Highway Patrol. The bus collided with another vehicle and went over a small embankment, slid down about 25 feet and smashed into a 50-foot cedar, crumpling the cab of the bus.
There were 22 people on the bus and two in the other vehicle, Lopez said. Special tools were used to cut out bus seats and extricate some of the victims.
The injured were taken to Loma Linda Medical Center and Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. Ten people were listed in critical condition, and the others suffered only minor injuries, Lopez said.
A man who was passing by and spotted the crash told KNX 1070 radio that the bus went down the mountain about 50 feet, coming to rest at a 45-degree angle.
“I hear kids screaming, there’s this bus down,” he said. “Oh, God, it was terrible.”
He said he helped rescue two girls, one with a broken leg. He described the other girl as “dazed and confused.”
“A lot of them were crying, but this little girl, she’s saying, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.' She’s trying to apologize,” he told the radio station. He said he tried to console her.
“I didn’t do anything here special,” he said. “The pain and the blood I seen .... I guess it’s just getting to me.”
The bus, which was from the Light of Love Mission Church in Pasadena, went over the embankment and into a stand of cedars and white firs, authorities said. It came to a stop about five feet from a small snow-fed stream.
Church Deacon Steven Lee said a group of middle- and high school students were returning from a weekend church retreat in the mountains when the accident occurred.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
-- Phil Willon in Crestline and Victoria Kim in Pasadena
http://blogs.laweekly.com/informer/2011/02/crestline_bus_crash.php
One Dead in Crestline Mountain Crash of Korean Church Bus Loaded With Teens
By Dennis Romero, Mon., Feb. 21 2011 @ 4:29PM
Two people died when what appeared to be a church bus loaded with teenagers went over a mountain road in Crestline in the San Bernardino Mountains Monday afternoon.
The crash at highway 189 at Lake Gregory Drive was reported about 11:51 a.m. just after 1 p.m., according to Calfire. Two fatalities were confirmed at 1:40 p.m. Fire officials said about 25 "children" were on-board, but the ages of the deceased were as yet unknown.
The Riverside Press-Enterprise reported that the bus appeared to be operated by a Korean church.
According to Calfire the bus appeared to have gone about 20 feet off a snow covered mountain and as many as 20 people had been trapped inside following the accident.
Update: The Press-Enterprise reports that the bus had collided with a fire chief's truck on the highway.
Three people were hospitalized in critical condition, according to the paper, which had about 27 people on aboard the bus.
The Los Angeles Times states that 24 people were injured.
Update No. 2: KNX 1070 Newsradio reports the bus belonged to Light of Love Mission Church in Pasadena.
The CHP reports that power lines downed by the crash hampered rescuers.
According to City News Service the bus apparently hit an ice patch on the road, hit the fire vehicle, plunged off the road and hit a tree.
Brian Paik, who administers the church's Facebook page, told the Pasadena Star-News:
"Some junior high and high school students that regularly attend our church went up for a church retreat. This happened on their way down."
Calfire reported late this afternoon that a total of 24 people had been hospitalized.
Update No. 3: Vernal Schultz witnessed the accident, heard "cries for help," and rescued a 9-year-old girl, he told ABC7.
"I see blood just basically everywhere you look there," he said. "I didn't see one person without blood on them."
Update No. 4: CHP spokesman Mario Lopez told reporters at the scene that one person was found deceased at the accident site and that two others had to be airlifted to a hospital.
He seemed to dispute the idea that the bus had skidded on ice:
"There was no ice or snow on the roadway at the time of the collision."
He said the bus was traveling west and that a Nissan Murano was headed east when the accident occurred.
ABC7 described the passengers on the bus as "middle school students."
First posted at 2:42 p.m.
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