A deadly crash has left 13 dead and 31 injured after a tour bus returning from a casino collided with a tractor-trailer near Palm Springs, California this Sunday.
The bus crashed into the rear of the big rig around 5:17 a.m. The bus was travelling fast enough to force the trailer of the truck around 15 feet into the bus, according to California Highway Patrol Division Chief Jim Abele. The truck driver told authorities he, “Felt a thump in the back … he didn’t know what specifically happened,” Abele added. It is not known if drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash. The National Transportation Safety Board is sending a team to California to investigate the incident.
Of the 13 victims, 11 have been identified; one male and one female victim have yet to be identified. This had been one of the deadliest traffic accidents California has experienced in recent years.