2016 I-10 tour bus crash
{{Short description|2016 bus incident in California, United States}}
{{Infobox public transit accident
| name = 2016 I-10 tour bus crash
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| coordinates = {{coord|33.905066|-116.553027|display=inline, title}}
| date = October 23, 2016
| time = 5:17 a.m. PDT
| location = I-10 in Palm Springs
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| deaths = 13
| injuries = 30
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The 2016 I-10 tour bus crash was a vehicle accident that occurred on Interstate 10 (I-10) in California on October 23, 2016, when a tour bus slammed into the back of a semi-trailer truck. The crash killed 13 and injured 30 others.
Incident
The tour bus was heading westbound, returning to Los Angeles with 42 adult passengers from an excursion to a casino in Thermal, when it impacted the rear of the stationary truck{{cite news |url=https://www.pe.com/2017/11/20/trucker-charged-in-palm-springs-bus-crash-that-killed-13-is-extradited-to-california/ |title=Trucker charged in Palm Springs bus crash that killed 13 is extradited to California |date=November 20, 2017 |newspaper=The Press-Enterprise |location=Riverside, California |accessdate=April 8, 2019 }} soon after 5 a.m.,{{cite news |url=https://www.scpr.org/news/2016/10/23/65746/fatal-tour-bus-crash-in-palm-springs/ |title=13 dead, 31 injured in Palm Springs tour bus crash |publisher=KPCC |location=Pasadena, California |date=October 23, 2016 |accessdate=April 8, 2019 }} at an estimated {{convert|74-79|mph|kph}}.{{cite news |url=https://www.kesq.com/news/hearing-for-trucker-accused-in-deadly-crash-continues/698087471 |title=Trucker accused in deadly 2016 bus crash ordered to trial |publisher=KESQ |date=February 2, 2018 |accessdate=April 8, 2019 }} The speed caused the trailer to penetrate approximately {{convert|15|ft|m}} into the bus. The bus driver, Teodulo Elias Vides, who owned the tour bus company, and 12 passengers were killed.{{cite web |title = Bus crash kills 13 in California |accessdate = October 23, 2016 |url = http://www.cnn.com/2016/10/23/us/california-bus-accident/ |publisher = CNN }} 30 other passengers were injured.{{cite news |title = Tour bus crash in California kills 13, closes I-10 |newspaper = The Desert Sun |location=Palm Springs, California |date = October 23, 2016 |url = http://www.desertsun.com/story/news/2016/10/23/least-three-dead-after-interstate-10-bus-crash/92641620/ |accessdate = October 23, 2016 }}{{cite news |title = Grim scene as bodies removed from tour bus crash site |newspaper = Los Angeles Times |date = October 23, 2016 |url = http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-live-bus-crash-desert-hot-springs-driver-of-tour-bus-in-fatal-crash-was-1477255427-htmlstory.html |accessdate = October 23, 2016 }} The truck driver, Bruce Guilford, was unharmed, but was hospitalized for observation.
Investigation and trial
Immediately following the accident, the National Transportation Safety Board sent a disaster crew to investigate the crash. The report established that both drivers had been seriously sleep-deprived and that Guilford had falsified his driver logs to conceal his having driven more than the maximum number of hours without rest. He had fallen asleep and his truck had remained stationary after the highway reopened following a temporary closure; Vides, an undiagnosed diabetic who had also had very little sleep in the days before the accident, had not reacted in time to avoid colliding with the truck.{{cite news |first=David |last=Shepardson |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-california-crash-investigation/u-s-safety-board-blames-deadly-california-bus-crash-on-two-sleepy-drivers-idUSKBN1D02CB |title=U.S. safety board blames deadly California bus crash on two sleepy drivers |publisher=Reuters |date=October 31, 2017 |access-date=April 8, 2019 }} The bus also had two substandard tires and was not equipped with seat belts.{{cite news |first=Alene |last=Tchekmedyian |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-tour-bus-driver-charged-20171019-story.html |title=Big-rig driver charged in deadly tour bus crash that killed 13 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=October 19, 2017 |access-date=April 8, 2019 }}
Guilford was arrested in October 2017 and the following month was extradited from the state of Georgia and charged with 13 counts of felony vehicular manslaughter and other related charges.{{cite news |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2017/10/19/trucker-charged-manslaughter-bus-crash-killed-13-people-palm-springs-last-year/782724001 |title=Trucker charged with manslaughter in bus crash that killed 13 people in Palm Springs last year |last1=Newkirk |first1=Barrett |last2=Kelman |first2=Brett |last3=Atagi |first3=Colin |newspaper=USA Today |date=October 19, 2017 |access-date=October 26, 2017}} After a preliminary hearing, he was ordered held on $500,000 bail before his trial.
In August 2019, he pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to four years in state prison.{{Cite news |last=Dazi |first=Stefanie |date=August 31, 2019 |title=Trucker pleads guilty to California crash that killed 13 |work=CityNews |url=https://ottawa.citynews.ca/2019/08/31/trucker-pleads-guilty-to-california-crash-that-killed-13/ |access-date=December 3, 2023}}
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Interstate 10 tour bus crash, 2016}}
Category:2016 crimes in California
Category:2010s road incidents in North America
Category:Bus incidents in the United States
Category:Events in Riverside County, California
Category:Manslaughter in the United States