Thursday, September 10, 2015

School bus erupts in flames in Irvine; no injuries reported


A school bus carrying water polo athletes erupted in flames on the northbound 5 Freeway near the Jeffrey Road exit in Irvine on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015.
A school bus carrying water polo athletes erupted in flames on the northbound 5 Freeway near the Jeffrey Road exit in Irvine on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2015. (Photo courtesy of Troy Case)
By ABC7.com staff
IRVINE, Calif. (KABC) --
A school bus carrying 36 water polo athletes overheated and erupted in flames on the northbound 5 Freeway in Irvine Wednesday, Orange County Fire Authority officials said.

The school bus lost horse power, overheated and began to smoke, prompting the bus driver to pull over to the right shoulder of the freeway near the Jeffrey Road exit at 6:45 p.m.

The athletes, plus their coach and the driver, had already evacuated the bus when it became heavily covered in smoke and fire. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

The students from the Tustin Unified School District were coming from a match at Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo. No injuries were reported.
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