Eight people dead, dozens injured on I-40 in New Mexico after a blowout tire caused a semi ruck driver, Elisara Taito, to swerve across I-40 and hit a Greyhound bus head on. The tractor-trailer belonged to Jag Transportation Inc. based out of Fresno California
The front of the Greyhound bus was severely damaged during the crash.
NTSB is launching a go-team to investigate today's crash involving a Greyhound bus and a truck-tractor semitrailer on Interstate 40 in Gonzales, New Mexico.
New Mexico go-team includes specialists in human performance, motor carrier operations, vehicle factors, highway factors and survival factors.
GALLUP, N.M. —
At least eight people died after a Greyhound bus and tractor trailer collided in New Mexico on Thursday. Remarkably, the driver of the truck survived the head-on crash. Greyhound said late Friday that the driver of the bus had been killed.
Elisara Taito was hauling produce from California to Tennessee when his semi blew a tire and things got really bad, really quickly.
"Then it just locked up," he said.
He told CBS News he saw the bus in front of him "right away."
"I was trying everything that I could to avoid it," Taito said.
The Greyhound bus, en route to Los Angeles from St. Louis, was in the west-bound lane of Interstate 40 near Thoreau, New Mexico. The semi weighing over 70,000 pounds crossed the median and slammed into it head-first.
"As soon as it happened I almost just knew that I was going to die. I was surprised that I made it," Taito said.
Rachel Cunningham, who was on the bus at the time said people were "screaming and panicking."
Dr. Andrea Kofahl was also on the interstate coming back from a hiking trip. She immediately called upon her training as a medic.
"I was expecting a lot of very critical casualties," she said. "But I was thoroughly impressed with the response we had seen."
The response came not just from EMTs and police, but also from passersby who used ladders to pull people from the demolished bus.
The National Transportation Safety Board was on site Friday investigating, but they had not yet interviewed the truck driver, Taito. He said the New Mexico State Police have.
"They asked for a drug test," he said, adding that it was clean.
"I am sorry. I mean I don't know if I can do anything to change it... I can't," Taito said.
One passenger was a pregnant woman who went into labor after the crash. Her twins, born Thursday night, added two to the number of patients. But the mother and her babies are doing well.
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FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) --
The
death toll has climbed to eight after a Greyhound bus and
tractor-trailer collided in a devastating crash in New Mexico, hospital
officials told ABC News Friday.The tractor-trailer belonged to Jag Transportation Inc. based out of Fresno California state police told KOAT in Albuquerque.
On Friday afternoon, two of the passengers on the bus filed a lawsuit against Jag Transportation and driver Elisara Taito alleging negligence lead to the deadly accident.
On Thursday, the tractor-trailer veered into oncoming traffic when one of its tires blew, hitting the bus head-on, according to New Mexico State Police.
Forty-nine passengers were on board the bus and most were taken to local hospitals with injuries.
One person died after arriving at a hospital, bringing the death toll to eight.
Officials have not released the identities of any victims.
Two six-page lawsuits are both alleging negligence against Jag Transportation and its driver.
The company is based in Fowler.
Several attempts tonight to reach out to them but the texts, emails, and calls have not been returned.
The overhead video shows the devastating images of Thursday afternoon's Greyhound bus crash in New Mexico that killed at least eight people and injured more than a dozen others.
Friday we have learned that tire failure involved a semi-truck belonging to this Fowler trucking company named Jag transportation.
We went to the company's seemingly abandoned building with boarded windows and a sign suggesting it is looking for new drivers, but no one was there to answer our questions.
A nearby business owner telling us the owner recently purchased the property but has not moved in.
"I got out of my truck grabbed and started helping people," said witness Christoper Jones.
Meantime, an eyewitness who was there when the big rig sheered the Greyhound, describes what the California truck driver told him.
"Talking to the driver of the truck trailer I guess his front semi left tire popped on him so it took him through the median to oncoming traffic right into the Greyhound bus."
Family members of the truck driver have identified him to Action News as 35-year-old Elisara Taito.
They say Taito is a man who works hard to provide for his family.
They also told us Taito and his brother are both truck drivers for the company - a company they say told them not to talk to the media.
Likely because Friday the two passengers filed separate lawsuits against Taito and Jag Transportation -- claiming negligence in the deadly accident.
===========================
(CNN)
At least seven people were killed in northwestern New Mexico when a tractor-trailer crashed head-on with a nearly packed Greyhound bus, officials said.
"We do expect that number to rise," New Mexico State Police spokesman Officer Ray Wilson said on Thursday. Dozens of passengers were seen trying to climb out of the windows of the bus while some bystanders walked among piles of debris carrying ladders.
Most of the 49 people on the bus, including adults and children, were taken to area hospitals with different degrees of injuries. The driver of the truck sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, the state police said.
Wilson had initially said six people suffered minor injuries.
As of Thursday night, seven deaths had been confirmed. In a statement, the New Mexico State police said their identities would not be released until their next of kin were notified.
The horrific scene began around 12:30 p.m. when a semi truck was traveling eastbound along Interstate 40 in McKinley County and it blew a tire. The driver lost control of the vehicle, which crossed the median and struck the westbound bus, Wilson told reporters.
Bus crash near Thoreau
Aerial footage by CNN affiliate KRQE showed the bus damaged on the front edge, but upright, in the grass median. Nearby was an overturned vehicle and the truck trailer on its side, with what appeared to be produce boxes spilled on the median.
One witness, Chris Jones, was driving along the highway when he came upon the crash site. He quickly jumped out of his car to help the injured when he didn't see any ambulances around.
"Just trying to help them, comfort them, calm them down, get them taken care of until EMS got there," Jones told CNN affiliate KCAL.
Jones, who has medical training as Navy veteran and volunteer firefighters, said he first tried to get an idea of who was hurt.
Another witness, Marc Gonzales, said the scene was a "complete catastrophe," with skid marks on the side of the road. Passengers tried to climb out the bus windows and bystanders grabbed ladders from their vehicles to try to rescue them, he said.
"It's by far one of the worst accidents I've encountered. ... It was horrible," Gonzales told KRQE.
"You could tell that people were distressed, screams were coming from the bus," he said.
Twenty patients were initially taken to the Gallup Indian Medical Center in Gallup, acting chief medical officer Dr. Kevin Gaines told reporters. Some families were among the patients, as well as four children, he said.
Ten patients were being treated for injuries ranging from broken bones to bruises, he said. One was in critical condition and two were in serious condition, Gaines said.
Six patients were released and four others were transferred to other medical facilities in New Mexico and in neighboring Arizona, Gaines said.
The Los Angeles Greyhound bus had originally departed from St. Louis and had just made a stop in Albuquerque prior to the crash, the company said.
"Our first priority is taking care of our passengers and their families as this incident has deeply impacted all involved," the company said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone as we continue to give our support to all affected.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it was sending 10 investigators to the site.
This is not the first deadly crash involving a passenger bus in the state in recent months.
In July, the driver of a passenger bus tried to avoid a crash along I-25 near Bernalillo, but lost control and rolled crossing the highway. The it bus was then plowed by a semi truck traveling in the opposite direction. Three people were killed in that crash, CNN affiliate KRQE reported.
==================================
7 killed in bus crash involving semi on I-40 near Thoreau
By: KRQE Media
Allison Martinez
August 30, 2018
GRANTS, N.M. (KRQE) -
A deadly Greyhound bus crash shut down I-40 Thursday, leaving families wondering what happened to their loved ones.
Police say it was a blowout tire that caused a truck driver to swerve across I-40 and hit a Greyhound bus head on.
Just after 10 p.m., State Police confirmed seven people are dead. Dozens of people were injured, while the truck driver is expected to recover.
The crash happened around 12:30 Thursday afternoon between Grants and Gallup, near Thoreau.
I-40 was shut down for nearly eight hours and it just now reopened, although westbound traffic is still limited to one lane.
"It was horrible there was people trying to climb out of the windows of the bus... bystanders trying to help people getting ladders out of their truck to get to windows of Greyhound bus to assist," witness Marc Gonzales said. "When we went by the overturned semi, everything in the trailer was out on the road. It was a disaster...you could tell people were in distress, screams were coming from bus."
The witness says people were screaming as rescuers tried to get them out.
They say they saw bystanders shading children with blankets after they were finally rescued.
Only six of the 48 on board were not transported to a hospital.
The Greyhound bus was headed from St. Louis to Los Angeles. It was running a couple of hours late Thursday morning when it left Albuquerque at 10:30 a.m.
The accident threw debris all over the road, causing I-40 westbound to completely shut down for hours.
McKinley County Emergency Management has established the following number for family members of passengers looking for information on their relatives: 505-722-2002
This is not the first deadly bus vs semi crash in New Mexico. In July, the driver of a passenger bus tried to avoid a crash along I-25 near Bernalillo, but lost control and rolled. It then was plowed by a semi. Three passengers were killed in that crash.
“By far one of the worse accidents I’ve encountered. There was people trying to climb out of the windows of the bus. “ —witness #breakingnews State police say multiple people have died in a bus crash in I-40 near Thoreau. @KRQEAllison @MarissaKRQE will have the latest on @krqe pic.twitter.com/SrDCaNzDCe— Jessica Garate (@krqegarate) August 30, 2018
Officers have confirmed multiple casualties in this crash. Officers and EMS are still working this scene actively. More information will be released when available.— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018
McKinley County Emergency Management has established the following number for family members of passengers looking for information on their relatives: 505-722-2002— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018
#TrafficAlert McKinley County: I-40 westbound is closed at mile marker 50 near Thoreau due to a crash involving a passenger bus. Traffic is being diverted onto the frontage road in Thoreau. Expect delays. More info will follow when available.— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018
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http://metroforensics.blogspot.com/2015/03/united-states-still-has-one-of-highest.html
UNITED STATES STILL HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST ROAD ACCIDENT DEATH AND INJURY RATES IN THE WORLD: AT LEAST 40,000 DIE AND 2.5 MILLION INJURED EACH YEAR.
Despite the improvements in road safety, the United States has one of the highest death rates at about 1 person dead per 10,000 people. Unfortunately, only undeveloped countries have higher death rate.
Some states, such as Texas and West Virginia (sorry, WV, despite your tremendous progress in traffic safety, you are still at the top of the worst-death-rate list) have death rates of nearly 1.5 percent, i.e., fifty percent more people die compared to the national death rate.
Approximately 40,000 people are getting killed each year. In the 1950s and 1960s, about 55,000 people used to die on the roads – so, there has been improvement in the number of dead.
However, the number of injured is rising. Roughly 2.5 million are injured (yes, you read it correctly – 2.5 million injured) per year. That is, 1 percent (1%) of the population that is eligible to drive is injured every year.
It is worse than a war zone out there. So, please be safe and be on the lookout for weaving-through-the-traffic drivers, crazy drivers, reckless drivers, sick drivers, medical-condition drivers, sleepy drivers, negligent drivers, stupid drivers, careless drivers, drunk drivers, speeding drivers, drugged drivers, texting drivers, talking-on-the-phone drivers, looking-at-the-GPS drivers, hurry-hurry drivers, tailgating drivers, upset drivers, eating-while-driving drivers, putting-the-lipstick-on-while-driving drivers, elderly drivers, and so on.