Yosemite Tour Bus Crash Injures 16 People

It was not immediately clear where the tour bus was based.

A bus carrying visitors from Yosemite National Park crashed on a main highway south of the park, leaving 16 people injured, the California Highway Patrol said Sunday.

The tour bus was about 40 miles south of the park when it went off Highway 41 and over and embankment about 6 p.m. Saturday.

There were 17 people on board, including 15 visitors, a tour guide and the driver. The driver was on the only one who was not injured.  

The patrol's Merced dispatch office described it as a minor injury crash, and said the 16 people were taken to local hospitals.

The Fresno Bee quoted officers as saying the bus was returning from a visit to the park when the driver, who was traveling about 40 mph, lost control.

Patrol Sgt. Edward Greene said the bus rolled onto an embankment and several passengers were thrown to the driver's side of the bus. It eventually came to a stop after hitting a tree.

"If the tree wasn't there to stop the bus, it would have continued down the ravine," Greene said.

The newspaper said the injured people — the majority of whom were elderly and some from the Bay Area — were taken to three area hospitals with minor to moderate injuries. Four of the injured were treated at Clovis Community Medical Center and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The bus was based out of Burlingame. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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