Bus overturns in California mountains, sending multiple people to the hospital

(KTLA) — Three dozen people were aboard a bus involved in a fiery crash in California’s San Bernardino Mountains on Sunday night, prompting firefighters to declare a mass casualty incident.

Details were limited, and the exact cause of the crash is unknown. However, preliminary reports indicate that officials with the California Highway Patrol, the San Bernardino County Fire Department and other surrounding agencies responded just before 9 p.m. to reports of an overturned bus on State Route 330 in the Fredalba neighborhood of Running Springs, California.

One witness who was following the bus and knew many of the occupants involved in the crash told OnScene.TV, a video news service, that the young people aboard the vehicle had attended a church event and were on their way back to the church in Santa Ana, California, when the crash occurred.

Video from the scene shows a heavy presence of first responders who set up a triage area to quickly assess the condition of the passengers on the bus.  

County fire officials said that 36 people were on the bus, both adults and teens, when it crashed. Twenty people were taken to the hospital, including three with severe injuries.  

“The remainder of the passengers suffered minor injuries and were not transported or reported no injury at all,” officials said in a post to X.  

Officials with Caltrans said that Highway 330 was closed in both directions, from Live Oak near Running Springs to Highland Avenue in Highland, as a result of the crash.  

The highway was reopened as of Monday morning.