Thirteen people are dead and at least 31 more are injured after a tour bus crashed into the back of a truck just north of Palm Springs, California. The bus was reportedly en route to Los Angeles early Sunday morning, NBC reports, and the crash shut down multiple westbound lanes of Interstate 10.
As of early Sunday afternoon, NBC reported that rescuers are still searching the wreckage for more victims. The driver was critically injured and taken to a local hospital; per Patch, a fleet of ambulances took the injured passengers to hospitals across the Coachella Valley.
Also per NBC, the impact of the collision caused the passenger compartment of the bus to peel back nearly one third of its length.
The Desert Sunreported:
The tour bus had smashed into the rear of the big rig, and the front of the bus was enveloped by the big rig's trailer. Dozens of firefighters swarmed the scene, struggling to reach victims. They used chainsaws to break open the vehicle and make their way into its front, even though it was clear there was barely any room to fit inside.
We will continue to update this post as more information becomes available.
