May 2014 story: El Paso bus crashes near Calif. stateline; 4 killed, more than 20 injured
An El Paso-Los Angeles Limousine Express bus that left El Paso for Los Angeles crashed on I-10 early Wednesday morning, killing four onboard.
The accident happened near the Arizona-California state line at about 3:30 a.m. El Paso time when a semi-truck jack-knifed and its load of steel pipes fell on the road.
Jerry Rosenbaum, owner of the bus company, told media Wednesday afternoon that the bus driver did not swerve to avoid the pipes, contradicting previous reports that the driver did try and swerve.
The California Highway Patrol is handling the investigation and has not released the names of those killed in the crash.
“We’re confident they’ll determine all the elements involved in this accident,” Rosenbaum said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “No one has made any allegations about the bus’s maintenance or the bus driver’s actions being contributing factors of this accident.”
Rosenbaum released information Wednesday afternoon that he has received on passenger injuries and where they were taken to for treatment:
17 Palo Verde Hospital, Blythe, CA
3 or 4 Desert Regional Medical Center, Palm Springs, CA
1 Eisenhower Medical Center, Rancho Mirage, CA
1 La Paz Regional Hospital, Parker, AZ
Not injured 4 Blythe City Hall (Red Cross Reception Center)
The bus left El Paso at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday and was set to arrive in Los Angeles at 6:45 a.m. Wednesday.
“Our thoughts, prayers, and unfortunately condolences go out to and for the trucker involved in the accident, occupants of any other vehicles that may have been involved, and most importantly, our passengers and driver,” Rosenbaum said in the statement.
Families of injured passengers may call the El Paso-Los Angeles Limousine Express corporate office for information at 915-225-8196.
