Story updated.
JACQUES BILLEAUD, Associated Press Writer
SACATON, Ariz. (AP) — Six people were ejected from a bus and killed Friday when the vehicle hit a pickup and rolled over on the interstate south of Phoenix, state police said.
The six were thrown about 10 yards in the accident about 5:30 a.m. on the Gila River Indian Reservation near the community of Sacaton, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety. Their bodies were covered with blue tarps midmorning Friday, and police said there may be another victim under the bus.
The roof of the bus was crushed and all the windows were knocked out, with one thrown as far as 25 yards.
DPS spokesman Bart Graves said two men and four women, all aboard the bus, were killed. The bus, traveling from central Mexico to Los Angeles, was carrying 22 passengers.
Eight of the injured were taken to Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix, where six were in critical condition with life-threatening injuries ranging from broken spines and pelvises to head injuries, hospital spokesman Michael Murphy said.
He said an 11-year-old boy and the bus driver were among the patients at the hospital, and that the two of them were in guarded condition with non-life-threatening injuries.
Early reports said the bus hit a semi, but Graves said later a semi was not involved in the crash.
Police said the bus hit the pickup, veered into the central median, then overcorrected and rolled once before landing on its wheels.
The accident scene quickly became a mass of police and rescue personnel as ambulances arrived and medics set up a triage area in the middle of the normally busy interstate, preparing the injured for transport.
Medical helicopters landed on the freeway to airlift the most critically injured to area hospitals.
The bus originated in central Mexico near Durango, Graves said. It entered the United States at El Paso, Texas, and was traveling westbound on I-10.
Two drivers were onboard, the main driver and a relief driver. The plan was to switch drivers in Phoenix, Graves said.
The bus is owned by Tierra Santa Inc. A phone message left by The Associated Press was not immediately returned.
Police said the rollover triggered a second accident when another pickup slowed and was hit by a sedan. One person from the sedan was taken to a hospital.
Both westbound lanes of I-10 were closed at milepost 173, and traffic was being rerouted onto State Route 587 until further notice.
The accident scene, about 25 miles south of downtown Phoenix, remained under investigation.
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Associated Press writers Mark Carlson and Jonathan Cooper in Phoenix contributed.
THIS IS A STORY UPDATE THAT ALSO CORRECTS AN ERROR OF OMISSION IN THE PREVIOUS STORY. EARLIER STORY FOLLOWS.
PHOENIX (AP) — Six people were killed Friday when a passenger bus hit another vehicle and rolled over on the interstate south of Phoenix, authorities said.
At least 15 others, including two 11-year-olds and a 16-year-old, in the early morning accident on Interstate 10 about 25 miles south of Phoenix, according to Department of Public Safety spokesman Bart Graves.
Graves said two men and four women were killed. The bus was carrying 21 passengers. All those killed and injured were on the bus.
Ten of the injured were taken by ambulance to various hospitals and five were flown by medical helicopter, he said.
The bus was headed west on I-10 when it rear-ended a passenger car, Graves said. The bus driver lost control and the bus veered off the road and rolled over. Early reports said the bus hit a semi, but Graves said later the semi was not involved in the crash with the bus. Two non-injury accidents occurred behind the bus crash.
The accident quickly scene became a mass of police and rescue personnel as ambulances arrived and rescuers broke out windows of the bus to get to victims, setting up a triage area in the middle of the interstate.
Helicopters landed on the freeway to airlift the most critically injured.
Both westbound lanes of I-10 were closed at milepost 173, and traffic was being rerouted on State Route 587.
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