On Sunday morning, a fatal bus crash between a tour bus and a tractor-trailer resulted in 13 deaths on Interstate 10 in Palm Springs, California.
The California Highway Patrol reported that the bus slammed into the tractor trailer, crushing the front of the bus. 13 people in the bus were killed, and 30 were sent to the hospital.
The truck driver, who has only been identified as “Bruce,” survived the crash. He’s now being called a hero for leaping into the mangled bus and attempting to pull out injured passengers, despite being injured himself.
In an interview with KMIR’s David Hirshfield, he says he didn’t see or hear the bus coming, and “blacked out for a minute” after the impact. He explained that he got of out of the bus and started to help people in the bus.
The driver said most of the passengers in the bus were Hispanic, in their 40s or 50s. When asked about his speed he responded with “I wasn’t moving that fast,” because of traffic on the road.
The LA Times reported that the bus driver, 59-year-old Teodulo Vides, died in the crash. The CHP said they will investigate if he “fell asleep, had a heart attack or was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”