5 killed when bus plows into pole on California highway

A bus veered off a central California highway before dawn Tuesday and struck a pole that sliced the vehicle almost in half, killing five people and sending at least five more to hospitals, some with lost limbs, authorities said. He said the sign pole sheared through the center of the vehicle.

Five people were killed and 18 others were injured when a bus crashed on Highway 99 near Liberty Drive.

The highway runs through farm fields and almond orchards in the San Joaquin Valley northwest of Fresno.

Merced County Sheriff Vern Warnke said rescuers pulled “bags of body parts” from the bus along with survivors, adding that some people suffered severed limbs.

When they arrived, they found a charter bus had crashed into a freeway sign on the northbound side of State Route 99 near Livingston.

Mario David Vasquez, 57, of Los Angeles, had only three to four hours of sleep the night before the crash and was due to finish his driving shift and be relieved in Livingston, a mile north of the crash on northbound Highway 99, family members told NBC Los Angeles.

California Highway Patrol officers investigate the scene of a charter bus crash on northbound Highway 99 between Atwater and Livingston, Calif., Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2016. The bus begain its trip in Mexico and was headed to Pasco, Washington. When asked how the accident occurred, Onsurez said the vehicle had veered off the highway, crashing into the pole, adding: “At this point, we do not know the reason behind the unsafe turning movement”. “As of now, what we are trying to do is make sure they are in a safe place away from the freeway – in a safe location where we can conduct the rest of the investigation”, said Moises Onsurez, Merced Area CHP.

The crash was so violent the tour bus was split in two.

Outlets are reporting at least 30 people were on the bus. The 1998 vehicle is registered to Autobuses Coordinados USA Inc., according to the California Department of Motor Vehicles. “He’s very responsible. When he got exhausted, he told the other driver he could take over from here because he knew it was important for him to come home”, said Menjivar. The bus veered off course shortly before 3:30 a.m. Wreckage and debris including seat cushions, drink containers, pillows and a blanket were scattered in lanes and on the highway’s shoulder. The northbound lanes of the road are closed on Tuesday morning. A sign in Spanish advertised daily 7:30 p.m. departures to destinations up the West Coast to Washington.

The bus also has been cited for having a damaged or discolored windshield, a defective or no brake-warning device, prohibited aisle seats and other issues, records show. Action News took a look at a report about the charter bus company and it doesn’t list any crashes within the last two years.