Rescuers Converge on Fatal California Greyhound Bus Crash

A Greyhound bus with 44 people aboard veered off U.S. 101 near here early Sunday, slid down an embankment, flipped on its side and hit a tree, killing a pregnant woman and a man, officials said.

Dozens of others were injured, although by nightfall only two remained hospitalized.

The bus, heading from Los Angeles to San Francisco, was about 75 miles north of Santa Barbara shortly after 7 a.m. when "there is a strong possibility that the driver fell asleep and ran off the road," Lt. Dan Minor, commander of the Santa Maria-area California Highway Patrol, said at a news conference.

"We have reason to believe that driver fatigue may have played a significant factor here," Minor said. Authorities were investigating whether Samuel Bishop's hours behind the wheel violated state and federal laws regarding overworked drivers, Minor said.

Martha Contreras, 23, of Santa Maria and Faro Jahani, 50, of San Francisco, who were sitting in the same left-side row near the rear of the bus, died at the scene. Contreras' husband told authorities that his wife was seven months pregnant. The fetus did not survive.

The injuries ranged "from minor to moderate,'' said Kathleen Hernandez, communications manager for Marian Medical Center in Santa Maria, where most of the injured were taken.

The bus was less than half a mile south of the Betteravia Road exit, traveling about 60 to 65 mph, when it "suddenly drifted to the right," Minor said. There were no indications that the driver applied the brakes or signaled, or that there were mechanical problems with the bus, Minor said.

Benny Elias, a 39-year-old mechanic from Richmond, Calif., who was en route to San Francisco, said that the bus felt "like a roller coaster'" as it left the road.

Witnesses told police that the bus moved into the left lane, then back into the right lane. The bus continued veering right, then jumped the shoulder and slid along the embankment, where it hit a eucalyptus tree.

Minor said that Bishop, 63, had been called to work an unscheduled shift. Bishop started driving from Fresno, where he lives, to Los Angeles about 8 p.m. Saturday, Minor said. In Los Angeles, he started the drive to San Francisco about 3:15 a.m.

Bishop was supposed to end his shift in San Luis Obispo, where another driver was scheduled to replace him, Minor said.

Kim Plaskett, a Greyhound spokeswoman, said she didn't have details on the accident and couldn't comment because it was still under investigation.

She said Greyhound has implemented "rigorous fatigue control" for drivers that is stricter than U.S. Department of Transportation rules, limiting actual driving time per shift to 9.5 hours. Federal regulations permit 10 hours of driving following eight or more consecutive hours off duty.

Plaskett said dispatchers and supervisors are trained to recognize fatigue and that the company works to minimize irregular schedules. "Ninety-nine percent of our drivers sleep at home every night," she said. The company also encourages drivers who feel sleepy to take time off, she said.

Minor said the district attorney will decide whether charges are filed against the driver. "The direction of our investigation is toward misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter," he said.

There was no evidence that any other vehicle was involved in the accident, said Capt. Keith Cullom, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department. "It was just the bus."

The accident brought northbound traffic on the freeway to a standstill for six hours. It was noon before the bus was righted, Cullom said.

Still dazed hours later, a few survivors talked about the accident as they waited outside Lompoc Hospital to board what a Greyhound driver called a "rescue bus."

Mike Patton, a 45-year-old flooring contractor from El Centro, said he was on his way to Santa Maria, sitting a few rows behind the driver. Patton recalled seeing an open, traffic-free road.