AP: 356605f7-6831-4cc0-ab82-7a6bcf44b8c7
Emergency personnel respond to the scene of a multiple-fatality accident after a tour bus careened through a guardrail along an icy highway and fell several hundred feet down a steep embankment, authorities said, Sunday, Dec. 30, 2012 about 15 miles east of Pendleton, Ore. The charter bus carrying about 40 people lost control around 10:30 a.m. on the snow- and ice-covered lanes of Interstate 84, according to the Oregon State Police. (AP Photo/East Oregonian, Tim Trainor)

Survivors of Ore. bus crash prepare to go home

January 1, 2013 @ 2:58 pm

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Associated Press

PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) - Some of the survivors of a fatal bus crash on a rural Oregon highway retrieved their passports and other belongings Tuesday so they can finish their journey to Canada.

At least 14 survivors remained hospitalized in three states after the weekend crash that killed nine and injured 38 others. State police escorted others one by one to collect their property, which was strewn across a hillside as the tour bus careened 200 feet from a partly icy roadway Sunday.

The bus was returning to Vancouver, British Columbia, on the final leg of a nine-day tour of the western United States. The trip was organized by a British Columbia travel agency to carry tourists traveling in small groups. Most of the passengers were Korean.

The Red Cross said some of the survivors were too terrified to get on another bus, so a nearby Ford dealer offered to drive them in smaller passenger vehicles. Some were expected to begin the trip on Wednesday.

"The pieces are kind of getting into place about getting back to normal, and they want to go home," said Mary Naman, a registered nurse from Portland working with the American Red Cross to help survivors.

Red Cross workers are helping about 15 survivors who remain in Pendleton, trying to make them as comfortable as possible while they wait for police to release their belongings and for the logistics of their return trip to be worked out. One local volunteer, who is Korean, planned to make traditional Korean food for them, Naman said.

Many of the survivors did not know each other before the trip but have supported each other and formed a close bond through shared experience, said Sandy Ramirez, a Red Cross psychologist. While they're eager to get home, it will also be tough to separate from the other survivors who understand what they're going through, she said.

State police and National Transportation Safety Board investigators were expected to finish an inspection of the bus Tuesday.

Oregon State Police identified one of the nine victims as a 57-year-old Washington man. Authorities said Dale William Osborn of Spanaway was killed in the Sunday crash and his wife, Sue Osborn, remained hospitalized in Pendleton, about 200 miles east of Portland.

His daughter, Jennifer Sherman of Colorado Springs, said she was told her father was hit in the head by a rock while her mother was thrown into a river bed. She last spoke to her father two weeks ago.

"He was very happy," Sherman said. "He's a very good man."

Authorities have not yet released the names of the other eight people who died, but police said the four men and four women were of Asian descent and one female victim may be a juvenile.

Two families are expected to arrive from South Korea later this week, said Vice Consul Chul Ho Choi, who came to Pendleton from Seattle to help authorities translate, identify victims and notify relatives. Relatives of all victims have now been notified, he said.

Chris Huxoll, sales manager at Legacy Ford in La Grande, Ore., said the dealership will probably use new sport-utility vehicles with four-wheel drive to be sure survivors can safely make the 420-mile trip to Vancouver.

"We are extremely sensitive to the fact that these kids and adults don't want to get on a bus," said Casey White-Zollman, a volunteer spokeswoman for the Red Cross.

Police said Monday they still weren't sure how fast the bus was travelling before the crash.

It could take a month or more to determine whether the driver, a 54-year-old man from Vancouver was at fault and whether he'll face charges, Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings said.

The bus was traveling westbound in the left lane of Interstate 84 when it hit a concrete barrier, veered across both westbound lanes and plunged through the guardrail and 200 feet down the embankment, Hastings said. The NTSB said the bus rolled at least once.

The interstate links Boise, Idaho, and Portland, Ore., through the Blue Mountains and the Columbia River Gorge.


(Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
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Comments (9)


  • Add A Comment

  • longwayhome wrote...
    I've said it before
    December 30, 2012 6:37 pm
    And I will repeat it again. Charter bus companies do not pay their drivers well. They rely on tips and gratuities from the restaurants and casinos they visit. The experience level of drivers has been an ongoing problem for operators for years, I'm not putting the blame on the driver, but the operators of these companies. The requirement for a coach driver is a C.D.L. class A with a passenger (bus) endorsement. I certainly hope that this driver possessed all these endorsements.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • maplefish wrote...
    Wrongway
    December 31, 2012 9:04 am
    Have you ever been on that stretch of hiway? It is incredibly dangerous and especially in the winter. Very sad, but that road is treacherous.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • richard_a wrote...
    I agree!
    January 1, 2013 2:09 pm
    I'm right with ya, longwayhome! Excellent comments. However, to drive a commercial bus, the minimum requirement is a Class B CDL with a P-endorsement, and in this case, no L or Z restriction (passed all their air brake tests). These are the federal guidelines that states must follow (from the D.O.T. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration). This guy sounds as if he was licensed in British Columbia, however, so I think their equivalent is a Class 2. No matter, it sounds as if this driver was going too fast for the conditions. On that stretch of highway where the conditions sound as if there were spots of ice on the roadway, he should have literally been crawling along at maybe 10-15 MPH until the roadway was clear of ice completely. This is a given when you're carrying that many passengers and the bus probably having summer tires. Those of you who know that stretch of roadway, they were not yet quite to the point where the switchbacks start or even to the viewpoint. They should have been going at a very slow rate of speed until they reached the bottom of the hill. I drive professionally and I'm surprised to see how many buses will pass me at a pretty good clip even on compact snow and ice. But the day of the accident, the road didn't appear to be covered with snow. It was icy in spots with probably unexpected patches of black ice. Poorly trained bus drivers remind me of those driving 4x4s who think they invincible but in this case, because they are not pulling trailers. They have to SLOW down! My condolences to the families of the victims and my thanks go out to the first responders who worked so hard in those icy conditions to save as many as they could.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • rodneytom wrote...
    Buses Kill People
    December 31, 2012 10:23 am
    What we need is comprehensive bus reform.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Ron_Spins wrote...
    You can possess all of the endorsements in the`world but if the bus you are driving has the wrong tires
    December 31, 2012 11:39 am
    Summer or HI- Mileage tires that are made for high heat or long wear have the wrong tire compound for below freezing conditions.I personally use Nokian snow tires as the rubber stays soft in frigid conditions.Look at the guardrail all you want put a 40,000 bus against it at any speed and most guardrails will fail.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • dori monson fan wrote...
    all busses traveling that stretch of highway
    December 31, 2012 12:26 pm
    should be required to use studded snow tires in those conditions
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • Newton wrote...
    Its clear Buses Kill people.
    December 31, 2012 3:18 pm
    Restrict bus travel to only sunny and dry days.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • TYR wrote...
    Incompetence
    December 31, 2012 7:03 pm
    Why was this coach driver in the left lane on a notoriously dangerous pass in winter conditions?
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • longwayhome wrote...
    I have traveled
    December 31, 2012 9:44 pm
    That stretch of highway many times in my truck. I'm familiar with the westbound 7% downgrade and the run-outs every two miles. The weather is very unpredictable in the winter, and given that the driver was from Canada and probably unfamiliar with the conditions could have been a factor. There are many factors to look at here. A conflict with an automobile, cars will speed by a truck or a bus just because they think they are going too slow, and suddenly realize that they are going slow for a reason..... slippery conditions, and brake in front of the bus or truck and cause the vehicle to either jackknife or lock up their brakes and slide into a guardrail. Many times on Snoqualmie pass or Stevens pass, the weekend warriors with ski's on the roof are upside down (four wheel drive vehicles) because they feel invincible with their A.W.D.
    { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }
  • { "Thumbs Up":"1","Thumbs Down":"-1" }