Montana bus crash kills 2, injures 33

Montana bus crash kills 2, injures 33

2012-01-10 02:52:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

CLINTON, MONTANA (BNO NEWS) -- Two people were killed on Sunday when a bus rolled over in the U.S. state of Montana, officials said on Monday. More than 30 others were injured, some seriously.

The accident happened at around 7:15 a.m. local time on Interstate 90, just east of the city of Missoula in the county which carries the same name. Montana Highway Patrol Captain Greg Watson told Billings Gazette that the bus had taken off from Billings and was headed toward Missoula when it slid on the icy road, rolled over and landed on its side in the median.

The bus was carrying a total of 35 people, of whom two were killed. Thirty-three others were injured, including one passenger who was reported to be in a critical condition. Seven others were seriously injured while the remaining 25 suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

A Clinton school bus was used to transport 21 people to the Community Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries, while twelve others were either airlifted by helicopter or rushed by ambulances to the St. Patrick hospital, hospital officials told the newspaper.

The driver of the bus, a 53-year-old unidentified man, was said to be a 'solid' driver with a good record and no issues of reliability. The driver had previously also worked for Greyhound, according to a spokesman for the American Bus Association and Rimrock Stages.

The cause of the accident has not yet been determined, but highway conditions were extremely icy. An initial investigation also determined that the driver was driving too fast for such road conditions. A number of other accidents were also reported on the same road.

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