At least 10 dead in California crash

The drivers of a FedEx delivery truck and a charter bus carrying high school students on a college visit are among the 10 people who were killed in a fiery crash Thursday on a Northern California interstate, according to the California Highway Patrol. 

In addition to both drivers, the patrol says three adult chaperones and five teenage students were killed in the crash on Interstate 5 near Orland, a small city about 100 miles north of Sacramento. Their identities haven't been released.

The CHP says the bus and truck were on opposite sides of the freeway when the truck crossed a grass median and slammed into the bus, causing an explosion and fire. Investigators say the truck driver might have been trying to avoid a passenger car that was also involved in the crash.

Steven Clavijo, 18, a student at West Ranch High School in Santa Clarita, told The Associated Press that he was on the bus during the crash.

For hours during the long drive north, the students — from several different schools in the Los Angeles area — watched movies and listened to hip-hop on the radio, Clavijo said.

But just as he was trying to get some sleep in his seat in the back of the bus, he said he felt the vehicle shake from left to right.

"I just heard this loud boom," he said. "We knew we were in major trouble."

Many escaped through a window that someone had kicked open, running for their lives to the other side of the freeway before hearing an explosion and seeing the bus burst into flame.

The bus was one of two that the admissions office at Humboldt State University had chartered to bring prospective students from Southern California to tour the Arcata campus, Humboldt's Vice President of Administrative Affairs Joyce Lopes said.

University police were trying to determine which school districts the students were from and fielding telephone calls from anxious parents, Lopes said.

The bus was owned by Silverado Stages, a tour bus company based in San Luis Obispo. The company said in a statement on its website Thursday night that it was assisting authorities in gathering information.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy said that he didn't know how many students from his district were victims of the crash.

A first responder who helped set up a triage at the scene said 36 or 37 people received injuries ranging from severe to minor burns, broken legs and noses and head lacerations.

"The victims were teenage kids. A lot of them were freaked out. They were shocked. They still couldn't grasp what happened," Jason Wyman with the Orland Volunteer Fire Department said.

"You hear about it in the news, but you never seen anything like that," he said.

Wyman said when he drove a water truck to the highway, both the bus and truck were fully engulfed in flames, sending thick, dark smoke into the air.

He said he was first focused on putting out the fire, and once it was under control he saw dozens of people walking wounded.

"The first victim that was taken out of the bus was severely burned," Wyman said.

Elevan people were taken to Enloe Medical Center in Chico, hospital spokeswoman Christina Chavira said. Two of those patients were listed in critical condition, two in fair condition, and seven had minor to moderate injuries as of 11 p.m. Thursday, according to Chavira.

Another five were taken to Mercy Medical Center in Redding in fair condition and one patient was admitted to the burn unit of University of California, Davis, Medical Center in unknown condition, according to The Associated Press.

Bonnie Kourvelas, a FedEx spokeswoman, said in a statement Thursday night: "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved in the tragic accident on I-5 in California. We are cooperating fully with authorities as they investigate."

Sabrina Garcia said the school tour began Thursday, with buses taking students in Southern California on a 13-hour ride to the campus for a three-day stay on campus. She said she decided to postpone the tour because she had a school project to complete.

"I was devastated when I heard about the crash, and relieved that I didn't attend," Garcia said. "I can't imagine how those kids feel. You think you're going somewhere safe with your school — and you end up in an accident."

Al Jazeera and The Associated Press