A Greyhound Bus carrying 49 people that crashed in New Mexico, killing seven people Thursday, originated in St. Louis Wednesday.
Greyhound officials confirmed the deadly bus crash, #1333, was traveling from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona. Bus #1333 left St. Louis en route to Los Angeles on Wednesday.
The wreckage included a Greyhound bus with front-end damage and a semi-truck that was on its side and with its cargo strewn across the highway and the median.
According to the New Mexico State Police, the semi-truck was traveling eastbound on Interstate 40 when its tire blew out and crossed into the westbound land, crashing into the bus.
Passing motorists described a chaotic scene with passengers on the ground and people screaming.
Eric Huff was heading to the Grand Canyon when they came across the crash. The semi’s trailer was upside down and “shredded to pieces,” and the front of the Greyhound bus was smashed, he said, with many of the seats pressed together. Part of the side of the bus was torn off, he said.
“It was an awe-inspiring, terrible scene,” he said.
Many of the 49 passengers aboard the Greyhound bus were injured, although authorities couldn’t immediately provide an exact count of how many were hurt or their conditions.
Truck driver Santos Soto III shot video showing the front of the Greyhound sheared off and the semi split open, with its contents strewn across the highway.
He saw people sobbing on the side of the road as bystanders tried to comfort them.
“I was really traumatized myself, because I’ve been driving about two years and I had never seen anything like that before,” Soto said.
“I’m a pretty strong person and I broke down and cried for at least 30 minutes,” he added.
Chris Jones was headed west on Interstate 40 when he caught his first glimpse of the semi turned over. He saw the rest of the wreckage and stopped to help before coming across the driver of the semi sitting on the shoulder of the highway.
“It was intense,” Jones said.
He said the driver told him that one of his front tires had popped, forcing the truck to veer into oncoming traffic, where it struck the bus.
“We are fully cooperating with local authorities and will also complete an investigation of our own,” Greyhound spokeswoman Crystal Booker said in a statement.
The crash forced the closure of the westbound lanes of the interstate and traffic was backing up as travelers were being diverted.
An emergency management center has been set up in the area. Anyone with possible family members or relatives onboard should contact 1-800-972-4583.
The National Transportation Safety Board and New Mexico state police are investigating.
Greyhound officials confirmed the deadly bus crash, #1333, was traveling from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona. Bus #1333 left St. Louis en route to Los Angeles on Wednesday.