Tour bus crashes in Ariz., killing 5, injuring 15

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Source: Associated Press

PHOENIX – The Arizona Department of Public Safety says a tour bus has crashed on a highway near the Hoover Dam, killing at least five passengers and injuring more than 15. A DPS news release says the crash occurred about 4 p.m. Friday in northwestern Arizona.

DPS spokesman Lt. James Warriner says officers on the scene have confirmed five fatalities.

The crash closed down U.S. 93 in both directions. The highway is the main route between Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090131/ap_on_re_us/tour_bus_crash

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1. Bad road.

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4. What?

I drive 93 a LOT - from Vegas to Prescott and back (via 40 and 89). It's not a bad road. A little bit twisty in the 10 mile before the dam, but it's in very good repair.

on edit: looking at where it happened . . . heck, that's onto the straight section.

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2. CNN update

(CNN) -- A tour bus overturned Friday afternoon on U.S. Route 93 near Hoover Dam, killing at least six people and injuring at least 16 others, an Arizona Department of Public Safety spokesman said.

Authorities work on the crash scene Friday on the highway near Hoover Dam.

The accident happened at 4 p.m. on U.S. 93 at mile marker 27, about 27 miles south of Hoover Dam, said Lt. James Warriner.

The dead lay in body bags on the roadway near the bus, which was stretched on its side across both lanes and onto the shoulder on the highway.

The injured were being taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and some may have been taken to Kingman Regional Medical Center in Kingman, Arizona, Warriner said.

The north-south highway at the crash scene in White Hills, Arizona, was shut in both directions. Officials said the bus was heading from Las Vegas to Arizona. Hoover Dam is near the border of the two states.



Initial reports from the scene indicated the bus was carrying international tourists and that there were communication and language issues with the victims.

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3. Now we're up to 7 - Chinese tourists apparently

(CNN) -- A bus carrying Chinese tourists overturned Friday afternoon on U.S. Route 93 near Hoover Dam, killing at least seven people and injuring at least 16 others, an Arizona Authorities work on the crash scene Friday on U.S. 93 in White Hills, Arizona, near Hoover Dam.

The accident happened at 4 p.m. on U.S. 93 at mile marker 27, about 27 miles south of Hoover Dam, said Lt. James Warriner.

The dead lay in body bags on the roadway near the bus, which was stretched on its side across both lanes and onto the shoulder of the highway.

Initial reports from the scene indicated rescuers had difficulty communicating with the passengers, all of them Chinese nationals.

The injured were being taken to University Medical Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, and some may have been taken to Kingman Regional Medical Center in Kingman, Arizona, Warriner said.

The north-south highway at the crash scene in White Hills, Arizona, was shut in both directions. Officials said the bus was heading from Las Vegas to Arizona. Hoover Dam is near the border of the two states.

Among the injured was a motorcyclist who was hurt avoiding the bus, said National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz.

Rick Plummer, a spokesman for the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, said as many as 15 victims were en route by helicopter.

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5. Up to 10

Tour-bus crash: A tour bus overturned on a highway near the Hoover Dam on Friday, killing seven Chinese nationals and injuring at least 10 other people, authorities said. Cmdr. Dean Nyhart, of the Arizona Department of Public Safety, said investigators were not certain how many people were on the 24-passenger bus that crashed about 190 miles northwest of Phoenix.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2008691498_newsline31.html

The reports just keep getting worse. I'm not sure why it's so hard for them to get a straight story out, but it must be a hell of a mess.