San Jose bus crash kills 2, injures several others

Aerial footage showed the damaged bus on its side and blocking several lanes as vehicles drove past.

The cause of the crash was under investigation.

The actual bus, which lay across the center median, was not expected to be cleared from the scene until the afternoon, with initial estimates at 3 p.m.at the earliest.

The Greyhound bus that crashed was No. 86558 and was on schedule 6876, traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said.

The wreckage of a Greyhound bus, with two victims covered by tarps below, straddles the divider of Highway 101 near Highway 85 in South San Jose on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2016.

One of the two women killed in a Greyhound bus crash in Northern California has been identified as 51-year-old Fyle Olivera.

In addition to the CHP inquiry, the National Safety Transportation Board is sending a team of investigators, agency spokesman Eric Weiss said.

Before the bus flipped, it hit impact barrels on the freeway, and may have been changing lanes. It’s unclear if the road was slippery or if the bus over-corrected by making a sudden move on the highway.

Northbound Highway 101 was shut down in the area while emergency crews responded to the scene. Several people were seen walking outside the bus after the crash, at least one with apparent head injuries. According to AP, a passenger on the bus said the driver seemed to be nodding off before the crash and that they could feel the bus weaving and the driver jerking the wheel.

AP reported that the driver was among those taken to the hospital, where he would be asked to submit blood samples and undergo a test for alcohol and drugs, said Officer Chris Miceli of the California Highway Patrol. Another passenger told KRON he was sleeping when he felt a jolt from the bus overturning.

Another passenger said he and his girlfriend was stuck in the back of the bus and had to climb through the whole overturned bus to escape out of the front.

“We’re cooperating fully with local authorities on their investigation and conducting our own”, Gipson said. Fortunately, no fatalities were involved in the accident.