At least 8 killed when Phoenix-bound bus crashes in New Mexico

At least eight people were killed and more were injured Thursday after a Phoenix-bound commercial passenger bus and a semi-truck crashed along Interstate 40 in New Mexico, near the Arizona border, authorities said.

New Mexico State Police said preliminary information showed that the semitrailer was traveling eastbound when it had a tire blowout and crossed into oncoming traffic, colliding with the bus.

Initial reports from the department said at least four people were killed, before the death toll increased to seven. An eighth person died after arriving at a local hospital. The driver of the Greyhound bus was among the fatalities.

#NMSP officers have confirmed at least 4 fatalities from the bus at this time. Many bus passengers were transported with serious injuries. The exact number of injuries is still being investigated. This scene remains active and updated information will be posted here.

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 30, 2018

#NMBusCrash UPDATE: Seven (7) confirmed fatalities on scene.

— NMSP (@NMStatePolice) August 31, 2018

There were more than 48 people on board the bus at the time of the crash and 42 were transported with varying degrees of injuries to local hospitals after the incident.

Officials at University of New Mexico Hospital said three children were among those passengers seriously injured in the bus crash. Two of them were being treated in the hospital’s neonatal unit.

Hospital officials said Friday that 10 passengers who were still being treated at the Albuquerque hospital, including an adult in critical condition and two others in intensive care.

Some patients are expected to undergo surgery. Doctors say many face long periods of recovery and that injuries ranged from head trauma to spine fractures and broken bones.

The driver of the truck, who was not identified, suffered non-life-threatening injuries in the crash.

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 median.

The National Transportation Safety Board announced it would conduct an investigation. Ten investigators will arrive in New Mexico on Friday.

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.

— NTSB_Newsroom (@NTSB_Newsroom) August 30, 2018

The company said they would conduct a separate investigation.

“We are fully cooperating with local authorities and will also complete an investigation of our own,” Greyhound spokeswoman Crystal Booker said in a statement.

More than 20 volunteers from Arizona with the American Red Cross were deployed to New Mexico on Thursday to provide comfort to those affected by the crash and their family members by offering snacks, comfort kits and casework services.

Passing motorists described a chaotic scene with passengers on the ground and people screaming.

Eric Huff was heading to the Grand Canyon with his girlfriend when they came across the crash.

Huff said the semi’s trailer was upside down and “shredded to pieces,” and the front of the bus was smashed, 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.

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.

Those who were looking to find information about family members could call the McKinley Emergency Operations Center at 505-722-4246.

The crash occurred near the town of Thoreau. It forced the closure of the westbound lanes of the interstate and traffic was backing up as travelers were diverted.

One westbound lane of Interstate 40 was reopened just after 8 p.m. local time. Both eastbound lanes of the highway also reopened.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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