At least 30 people were injured in an Irwindale bus accident late Thursday morning. Officials said that as of now none of the injuries are life-threatening. Those who were injured in the bus wreck that are looking for compensation to cover their damages should contact a bus accident injury lawyer.
Reports say that the accident happened approximately 20 miles east of Los Angeles and that emergency respondents are already on the scene. A large tow truck was sent to pull the bus from the ditch as well.
California Highway Patrol officials are still investigating the accident and have released a few tweets to inform motorists of the situation.
“EB 210 past the 605 freeway. Overturned bus. All passengers out. Approximately 30 hurt. Three right lanes closed,” CHP Southern Div. tweeted at around 10a.m.
Irwindale bus accident injures 30 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Firefighters on the scene tended to those who were injured in the accident. Aerial footage showed that they were working with people who were placed on green, yellow and red triage area tarps. These tarps indicate severity of injuries, red is the most severe. Other people were being transported on stretchers.
Most of the victims were treated for bumps and bruises and did not appear to have life-threatening injuries.
While the emergency respondents did their work, traffic was halted and some people exited their cars, hopped over the center divider and made an attempt to watch but CHP would not allow them. Ready to reopen the freeway, CHP released the following tweets:
“Attention to all who are stopped on EB 210 and have exited your cars. WB lanes can’t be open until you return to your cars.”
“If you are stuck on 210 freeway please don’t exit your car or walk on the freeway. Freeway traffic may flow at any time”
Da Zhen, a Chinese tour bus company from Monterey Park, was transporting 40 passengers, Saul Gomez, a CHP spokesman said. Usually that bus offers one and two-day trips to casinos in and Las Vegas.
Officials are investigating the cause of the crash and so far it is unknown if there were any other vehicles involved in the incident.
“It’s a little early to determine whether it was driver error,” Gomez said. “We are worried more about the injured people than the actual investigation itself.”
Lt. Mark Garrett of the CHP told reporters that officers would conduct a “very thorough mechanical inspection” of the bus. Typically during these inspections officials check maintenance schedules to make sure the buses are well maintained. They also check that permits and licenses are all in order.
Traffic was backed in both directions of the freeway and CHP is preparing to get traffic moving once more. Here are other tweets they released to update motorists on the traffic:
“SIGALERT UPDATE: EB I-210 EAST OF I-605 THE CARPOOL LANE WILL BE CLOSED INTERMITTENTLY DURING COLLISION INVESTIGATION”
“11:15 AM SIGALERT UPDATE: I-210 EAST OF I-605 WB LANES OPEN – EB CARPOOL LANE OPEN – ALL OTHER EB LANES CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE”
Call (877)782-3777 if you were injured in a bus accident an attorney is waiting to speak with you.