Print ArticleThe Sacramento Bee
By Andy Furillo and Sam Stanton
WILLIAMS -- At least 10 people were killed and dozens others injured Sunday night when a privately owned tour bus headed from Sacramento to a Colusa-area casino flipped over on a two-lane road, officials said.
The single-vehicle accident sparked a massive emergency response from Sacramento to Chico, with hospitals, fire departments and other officials racing to the scene of the crash in Colusa County.
"Apparently, we had a busload of people headed to the casino to have a good time," California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Fran Clader said at the scene Sunday night. "Unfortunately, it resulted in tragedy."
The crash occurred at 6:10 p.m. on Lone Star Road , a two-lane road fronted by a water-filled ditch. The road is a popular shortcut for motorists headed to the casino, and the crash site is about six miles from Williams and four miles from Colusa.
"This is a bad scene," Colusa County Sheriff Scott Marshall said after arriving at the crash site Sunday night, where dozens of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles had gathered.
Officials said the incident involved a tour bus that had left Sacramento earlier Sunday and was headed to the Colusa Casino north on Lone Star when it drove into the ditch, flipped over and ended up facing south on its wheels.
No other vehicles were thought to have been involved, and the accident occurred before darkness fell on the area, which is largely rice fields and farmland.
Disaster response plans were put into effect throughout the region, and by 10 p.m. at least eight hospitals were receiving patients from the crash.
Authorities confirmed 10 dead by late Sunday and said dozens were injured.
"There are 24 at hospitals that we know of," CHP dispatcher Terry Throth said.
Laura Hennum, a spokeswoman at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, said her hospital had received 10 patients -- four in critical condition and two in serious condition, plus four who had yet to be evaluated.
"I know that we're one of several hospitals that are receiving patients," Hennum said, adding that her hospital had activated its disaster response plan and had called in 20 additional staffers to help.
Clader said other hospitals helping included the UC Davis Medical Center, Sutter Roseville, Woodland Memorial, a hospital in Marysville, another in Oroville and Mercy San Juan Medical Center.
At the scene, the bus sat aside the ditch with generator-powered lights shining on the area, dozens of firefighting and rescue trucks and helicopters overhead.
At least nine rescue helicopters had been called to the scene, and authorities said dozens of hospital workers had been called in to help in various medical centers.
Authorities said they had trouble determining what happened during the crash because many of the victims apparently spoke Laotian.
"We've had a difficulty with the language barrier," said CHP Dispatcher Brenda Houck.
Houck said an interpreter from Chico had been called in to assist.
To see more of The Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sacbee.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
By Andy Furillo and Sam Stanton
WILLIAMS -- At least 10 people were killed and dozens others injured Sunday night when a privately owned tour bus headed from Sacramento to a Colusa-area casino flipped over on a two-lane road, officials said.
The single-vehicle accident sparked a massive emergency response from Sacramento to Chico, with hospitals, fire departments and other officials racing to the scene of the crash in Colusa County.
"Apparently, we had a busload of people headed to the casino to have a good time," California Highway Patrol spokeswoman Fran Clader said at the scene Sunday night. "Unfortunately, it resulted in tragedy."
The crash occurred at 6:10 p.m. on Lone Star Road , a two-lane road fronted by a water-filled ditch. The road is a popular shortcut for motorists headed to the casino, and the crash site is about six miles from Williams and four miles from Colusa.
"This is a bad scene," Colusa County Sheriff Scott Marshall said after arriving at the crash site Sunday night, where dozens of fire trucks and other emergency vehicles had gathered.
Officials said the incident involved a tour bus that had left Sacramento earlier Sunday and was headed to the Colusa Casino north on Lone Star when it drove into the ditch, flipped over and ended up facing south on its wheels.
No other vehicles were thought to have been involved, and the accident occurred before darkness fell on the area, which is largely rice fields and farmland.
Disaster response plans were put into effect throughout the region, and by 10 p.m. at least eight hospitals were receiving patients from the crash.
Authorities confirmed 10 dead by late Sunday and said dozens were injured.
"There are 24 at hospitals that we know of," CHP dispatcher Terry Throth said.
Laura Hennum, a spokeswoman at Enloe Medical Center in Chico, said her hospital had received 10 patients -- four in critical condition and two in serious condition, plus four who had yet to be evaluated.
"I know that we're one of several hospitals that are receiving patients," Hennum said, adding that her hospital had activated its disaster response plan and had called in 20 additional staffers to help.
Clader said other hospitals helping included the UC Davis Medical Center, Sutter Roseville, Woodland Memorial, a hospital in Marysville, another in Oroville and Mercy San Juan Medical Center.
At the scene, the bus sat aside the ditch with generator-powered lights shining on the area, dozens of firefighting and rescue trucks and helicopters overhead.
At least nine rescue helicopters had been called to the scene, and authorities said dozens of hospital workers had been called in to help in various medical centers.
Authorities said they had trouble determining what happened during the crash because many of the victims apparently spoke Laotian.
"We've had a difficulty with the language barrier," said CHP Dispatcher Brenda Houck.
Houck said an interpreter from Chico had been called in to assist.
To see more of The Sacramento Bee, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.sacbee.com/.
Copyright (c) 2008, The Sacramento Bee, Calif.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
A service of YellowBrix, Inc.
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