A bus carrying dozens of adults and teenagers driving downhill through the San Bernardino Mountains overturned as it rounded a curve Sunday night, injuring at least 20 passengers and triggering an hours-long closure of State Highway 330, authorities said.
The bus was just south of Running Springs when it rolled over and crashed before 9 p.m., according to a San Bernardino County Fire Protection District social media post.
First responders arrived and found the bus on its side in a turnout, with passengers crawling out through a hatch in the roof, according to the post.
The passengers were traveling from a camp near Angelus Oaks back to Orange County when the crash occurred, authorities said. The fire protection district declared the incident a “mass casualty incident,” in which the number of casualties and the severity of their injuries overwhelm the capacity of emergency services.
Officials set up triage protocols, a patient treatment area and an ambulance loading zone, according to the social media post. Twenty-six people, including three with major injuries, were treated. At least 20 people were hospitalized. Some of the bus passengers declined treatment or an ambulance ride to the hospital.
After the crash, the California Highway Patrol shut down State Highway 330 in both directions from Live Oak near Running Springs to Highland Avenue in Highland, Caltrans officials said. The highway was reopened by Monday morning, according to the Caltrans website.
One person told OnScene.TV, a video news service, that the people aboard the bus had been returning from a church event.
Video also showed many first responders near the site of the crash.
The crash response included 11 engines, 11 ambulance and four chief officers, according to San Bernardino County Fire. The passengers were transported to hospitals within 15 minutes of first responders starting the triage process.
By 10:30 p.m., all passengers had been transported to hospitals.
