Twin Peaks, USA - A 25-passenger church bus crossed into the opposing traffic lane on Highway 189 and struck a car driven by an off-duty San Bernardino County Fire Department battalion chief, killing the bus driver and critically injuring six others, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday following Monday's accident.
The bus - registered to the Pasadena-based Korean Light of Love Mission Church - was headed west on Highway 189 when it drifted into the eastbound lane. It then hit a Nissan Murano driven by San Bernardino County Fire Battalion Chief Mark Peebles.
"It's safe to say that (Peebles) was not at fault," said CHP spokesman Ben Baker. "At this point, we still don't know why the bus was left of the double-yellow line."
The accident, which left members of the Light of Love Mission Church stunned and grieving, also left 12 hospitalized including the six critically-injured.
Peebles was off-duty driving his own car when the crash occurred minutes before noon Monday, County Fire spokeswoman Tracey Martinez said. Peebles was not injured. His wife Jacquelyn was treated and released at Loma Linda University Medical Center.
The CHP said after hitting Peebles' Nissan Murano the bus veered off the road, hit a telephone pole, went down an embankment and hit a large Cedar tree.
Why the bus drifted into the wrong land is still under investigation, according to the CHP. Investigators are mapping out the accident scene, scrutinizing physical evidence and examining
the bus to help determine if anything else contributed to the accident.
CHP spokesman Mario Lopez said Monday that neither weather or alcohol were factors in the crash. The bus driver, Won Seok Chae, 61, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:25 p.m. A 12-year-old girl, a 17-year-old boy and a 28-year-odl woman underwent surgery Monday evening at Arrowhead Regional Medical Center, said Dev Gnanadev, the hospital's medical director and chief of surgery.
The girl is in "extremely critical" condition, Gnanadev said. She suffered a major head injury and internal abdominal bleeding.
She is still unconscious, he said.
"Usually we see brain injuries, we immediately operate and time will tell how much they recover," Gnanadev said. "Her biggest challenge is going to be recovering brain function."
The girl's injuries were the most serious of the surviving victims, he said.
Once she is stable, she could be transferred to a children's hospital, Gnanadev said.
The 17-year-old boy and 28-year-old woman are in critical but stable condition with "multi-system injuries." Gnanadev did not discuss their injuries, but he said they are conscious.
They should be in recovery at the hospital for "at least a few days."
The woman underwent another surgery Tuesday to "get her bones fixed." The boy and 12-year-old girl do not have further surgeries scheduled, Gnanadev said.
There were seven young crash victims at Loma Linda University Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon, said spokeswoman Briana Pastorino.
Of those seven, three - two 13-year-old boys and an 18-year-old woman - are in serious condition with injuries including broken bones, head trauma and internal bleeding.
Two others with skeletal bone fractures - listed in "very stable" condition - were transferred from ARMC to a Kaiser Permanente facility in West Los Angeles.
Gnanadev was off-duty when he heard of the crash. He rushed to the hospital joined the teams of doctors and nurses treating the injured.
"We're prepared for these things," he said.
Gnanadev arrived at the hospital about 4 p.m. He and the other physicians finished the last surgery about 8:30 p.m.
"When a mass casualty happens, other people come in like I came in," he said.
ARMC has a separate waiting area for the families of the three crash victims still at the hospital.
Hospital spokesman Jorge Valencia said the victims' families did not want to talk to the media.