Church bus drifted into opposing lane, colliding with other vehicle, report finds
The bus crash that killed one and injured 23 in the San Bernardino Mountains on Monday apparently was caused when the bus driver drifted into the opposing lane and collided with an SUV, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The 1998 Bluebird bus hit a Nissan Murano on a nearly hairpin turn on the two-lane California 189 highway outside Twin Peaks near Lake Arrowhead, according to an investigative report by the agency. The bus then plummeted down an embankment and slammed into a tree, killing the bus driver.
“The reason for the bus driving left of the double yellow lines is still under investigation," the CHP report, released Tuesday afternoon, stated.
The driver of the Nissan was identified as Mark Peebles of Lake Arrowhead. His wife, Jacquelynn, was a passenger. Both sustained minor injuries. Peebles works for the San Bernardino County Fire Department and was off duty when the collision occurred shortly before noon Monday.
Most of the passengers on the bus belonged to a youth group at the Light of Love Mission Church in Pasadena. The bus passengers' ages ranged from 11 to 28.
The names of the juveniles were not released. According to the CHP report, the adults on the bus that were injured were: Jaewoo Lee, 18, of Arcadia; Sukhee Jang, 18, of Huntington Beach; Catheryn Jo, 28, whose city of residence was unknown; Hyung Hong, 25, of Tujunga; Eunji Kweon, 18, of Pasadena; Claire Kim, 18, of Arcadia; and Hyasun Lim, 28, of Arcadia.
Six people injured in the crash remained in critical condition at Inland Empire hospitals Tuesday, including a 12-year-old girl from the Pasadena church group who suffered severe head trauma, authorities said.
All 23 survivors were taken to area hospitals after the crash.
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Photos: Bus crashes in mountains near Crestline
No seat belts on church bus involved in fatal crash
Six people injured in bus crash near Twin Peaks remain in critical condition
-- Phil Willon and Victoria Kim
EDITOR'S PICKS:
Yet more proof that God does not exist.
Posted by: Captain Howdy | February 22, 2011 at 03:15 PM
this was an act of god to punish those who vote republiscum in his name. Those who worship the fascist elephant commit sin against thier fellow man and deserve punishment.
Posted by: Toe | February 22, 2011 at 03:52 PM
how can a bus drift?????
Posted by: blankman | February 22, 2011 at 03:58 PM
Flatlanders.
Posted by: JT | February 22, 2011 at 04:00 PM
Need to pray for those kids and family.
Posted by: timothy | February 22, 2011 at 04:11 PM
Irresponsible people going over the double yellow line is a real problem when driving on the mountain. FLATLANDERS, STAY ON YOUR SIDE OF THE ROAD AND SLOW DOWN WHEN WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE PRESENT!!!!!
Posted by: Mountain Queen | February 22, 2011 at 04:13 PM
God don't like busses.
Posted by: Mr. Skeptical | February 22, 2011 at 04:22 PM
Ain't np way i will ride a bus, you never know about the driver!
Posted by: LOU | February 22, 2011 at 04:43 PM
"God is my Co-Pilot"
No, _you_ are driving and HE is not your roadie. Watch the road, stop daydreaming and stop thinking you are exempt from the laws of physics.
Posted by: MadeInUSA | February 22, 2011 at 05:29 PM
He probably had a heartattack, hope nobody copped an attitude
Posted by: Jones Burrow | February 22, 2011 at 06:12 PM
This article seems to leave out the info that the other driver is a fire chief. And remarkably, the news agencies were reporting that the other driver was at fault the moment this story hit the wires, and while the injured were still being retrieved. Kinda wonder if accident reconstructionists would come to the same conclusion.
Posted by: Herebert44 | February 22, 2011 at 06:18 PM
If you drive the canyons in LA, you constantly see people cross over the lane lines on curves; treating the lane lines as suggestions rather than lane delineations.
Posted by: RWh | February 23, 2011 at 07:18 AM
If it happened the way the animated reconstruction illustrated, then the bus didn't "drift" anywhere, it was "steered" over the yellow line. Makes me wonder if the driver was trained and licensed to operate the bus because everything he did while negotiating the turn was wrong, he should have started his turn from the far right side of his lane. He had the front of the bus over the line, and if he hadn't wrecked, the rear of the bus would have been even farther in the oncoming traffic lane when the rear of the bus followed through. Since the bus driver lost his life, his side of the story is forever unknown. The opposing early and later news reports are troubling, as they suggest the survivor Nissan fire chief driver was at fault. As a motorcyclist, I am acutely aware of vehicles in curves and corners, because if I don't anticipate oncoming drivers being in my lane, I'd be dead a thousand times. From my perspective, it's never the professional drivers in their trucks and buses incorrectly negotiating a turn, it's the lame brain passenger car operators. The CHP should consider the bus driver lost control attempting to avoid the Nissan over the line.
Posted by: Clicker01 | February 23, 2011 at 03:42 PM