UPDATE: Greyhound Bus Crash On Highway 101 Kills 2 Women, Injures 18

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UPDATE 9:30 AM WEDNESDAY-

Two passengers killed in a Greyhound bus crash Tuesday morning on U.S. Highway 101 in South San Jose have been identified as 51-year-old Fely Olivera of San Francisco and 76-year-old Maria De Jesus Ortiz Velasquez of Salinas, according to the Santa Clara County medical examiner’s office.

They were two of 20 passengers in a Greyhound bus traveling on northbound Highway 101 heading toward the high occupancy vehicle connector ramp to northbound state Highway 85 at about 6:40 a.m., California Highway Patrol officials said.

The driver, 58-year-old Gary Bonslater of Victorville, struck multiple attenuator barrels at the ramp’s base, leading the bus to overturn and land on a concrete median, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The women were ejected from the bus and were pronounced dead at the scene, CHP officials said.

Nearly a dozen people were transported to hospitals following the crash, including an 8-year-old boy for precautionary reasons, according to the CHP. Two people who suffered major injuries and seven others with minor injuries remained hospitalized as of Tuesday afternoon, CHP officials said.

Bonslater suffered moderate injuries and was taken to a hospital, where he was treated and later released, according to the CHP.

The driver told investigators he felt fatigued and drank coffee after dropping off passengers in Gilroy before the crash, CHP officials said. Witnesses told officers that the bus was traveling at the speed limit, according to the CHP.

The bus was No. 86558 on schedule 6876 that left Los Angeles at 11:30 p.m. Monday with stops in Gilroy, San Jose and San Francisco before its scheduled arrival in Oakland, according to Greyhound.

The bus carrier company is cooperating with the investigation and is conducting its own review of the crash, Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said.

The National Transportation Safety Board is conducting an independent investigation into the crash and sent a team to the Bay Area, agency spokesman Eric Weiss said.

Lanes were closed for most of the day and into the evening commute, according to the CHP.

Drugs, alcohol and the rainy weather are not suspected as factors in the crash, CHP officials said.

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UPDATE 11:45 AM-

Two women died and 18 others were injured in a crash involving a Greyhound bus that overturned on U.S. Highway 101 in South San Jose this morning, according to California Highway Patrol and San Jose fire officials.

The crash was reported at 6:38 a.m. near the connector ramp between northbound Highway 101 and northbound state Highway 85, CHP officials said.

The bus was heading north toward the ramp but struck barrels placed to protect vehicles from hitting the concrete median, CHP Officer Christopher Miceli said. The bus ended up landing on its right side at the median, Miceli said.

San Jose Fire Capt. Christopher Salcido said there were 20 people, including the driver, aboard the bus when it crashed. Two women were pronounced dead at the scene and five people were quickly transported to hospitals for injuries that were considered life-threatening, according to Salcido.

Thirteen others suffered minor injuries and five of them were eventually transported to the hospital, while the other eight were treated at the scene and released, Salcido said.

The bus driver was one of the five people transported for minor injuries, Miceli said. The remaining passengers who didn’t need further treatment were placed onto a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus, according to the CHP.

The Greyhound bus that crashed was No. 86558 and was on schedule 6876, traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, Gipson said.

“We’re cooperating fully with local authorities on their investigation and conducting our own,” she said.

The CHP is looking into whether drugs, alcohol or the weather might have contributed to the crash, according to Miceli.

Witnesses reported the bus was traveling at the speed limit, according to Miceli.

The connector ramp and a northbound lane have been shut down for the investigation into the crash.

The lanes are estimated to reopen sometime between 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., Miceli said.

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UPDATE 8:35 AM-

Two people died and more than a dozen were injured in a crash involving a Greyhound bus that overturned on U.S. Highway 101 in South San Jose this morning, according to California Highway Patrol and San Jose fire officials.

The crash was reported at 6:38 a.m. near the connector ramp between northbound Highway 101 and northbound Highway 85, CHP officials said.

The bus crashed while traveling in the northbound HOV lane, according to the CHP.

San Jose Fire Capt. Christopher Salcido said 20 people were aboard the bus when it crashed. Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and 13 others were injured in the crash, Salcido said.

Several of the injured were taken to the hospital with major injuries while some were treated at the scene, he said.

All passengers who were not injured were placed onto a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus, according to the CHP.

The bus that crashed was No. 86558 and was on schedule 6876, traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, Gipson said.

“We’re cooperating fully with local authorities on their investigation and conducting our own,” she said.

The crash is blocking both the northbound and southbound HOV lanes of Highway 101, according to the CHP.

UPDATE 8:15 AM-

Two people died and six others were injured when a Greyhound bus overturned on U.S. Highway 101 near state Highway 85 in South San Jose this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash was reported at 6:38 a.m. near the connector ramp between northbound Highway 101 and northbound Highway 85, CHP officials said.

The bus crashed while traveling in the northbound HOV lane.

Two people were pronounced dead at the scene and the six injured were taken to a hospital. An update on their condition was not immediately available, according to the CHP.

The bus was No. 86558 and was on schedule 6876, traveling from Los Angeles to San Francisco, Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said.

The cause of the crash has not yet been determined, Gipson said.

“We’re cooperating fully with local authorities on their investigation and conducting our own,” she said.

The crash is blocking both the northbound and southbound HOV lanes of Highway 101, according to the CHP.

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UPDATE 7:40 AM-

SAN JOSE, CA - Two people died and six more were injured in a bus crash on northbound U.S. Highway 101 near northbound state Highway 85 in San Jose this morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash was reported at 6:38 a.m. near the connector ramp between northbound Highway 101 and northbound Highway 85, CHP officials said.

The bus appears to have been the only vehicle involved in the crash.

No other information about the incident was immediately available.

-Bay City News

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(original story)

SAN JOSE - A bus carrying dozens of people has crashed on northbound 101 at the Highway 85 interchange in South San Jose, killing at least two, according to several Bay Area media reports.

The CHP confirms that two people died, and roughly 40 people were aboard a Greyhound bus, according to the reports.

The CHP log stated the bus was on its side.

-image courtesy to ABC7 News/KGO-TV