'It's kind of like one of those dreams you have of the world ending'
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PENDLETON, Ore. (AP) - Survivors of the bus crash that killed nine people on a partly icy section of interstate in rural Eastern Oregon said Monday some passengers were thrown from the tour bus through broken windows after the vehicle skidded out of control, smashed through a guardrail and plummeted 200 feet down an embankment.
When the charter bus came to a rest, terrified passengers looked around for their loved ones.
"Some mothers screamed to find their son or daughter," said Jaemin Seo, a 23-year-old exchange student from Suwon, South Korea.
Berlyn Sanderson, 22, of Surrey, British Columbia, said she and several other passengers were ejected. "It's kind of like one of those dreams you have of the world ending," she told The Associated Press.
The bus, owned by a British Columbia company, was returning to Canada from Las Vegas, one of the stops on a nine-day western tour, when it crashed Sunday just east of Pendleton.
Aboard were 48 people. Some were exchange students from South Korea. Some were from British Columbia, some from Washington state. All survivors were sent to hospitals.
"It's touched many lives and we're working hard - we're trying to work as quickly as possible to get information out to those loved ones who either know or believe of their family members may have been injured or killed in the crash," Lt. Gregg Hastings with the Oregon State Police said during a news conference Monday afternoon.
Hastings added that the investigation could last up to a month. Few details are being released at this point while investigators piece together what happened. They will be looking at the speed that the bus was traveling at and the conditions on the road, as well as any other factors that might have played a role in the crash.
The crash occurred near a spot on Interstate 84 called Deadman Pass, at the top of a steep, seven-mile descent from the Blue Mountains. That section of road is so notorious that state transportation officials have published a warning that says it has "some of the most changeable and severe weather conditions in the Northwest."
Still, a spokesman for the Oregon Department of Transportation, Tom Strandberg, said that while there were icy spots where the crash occurred, it was nothing unusual for this time of year.
The highway has been shut down several times this winter, mostly due to crashed trucks blocking the roadway, he said. The call on whether to close the road or require chains is made by the local maintenance crew, Strandberg said.
Seo said he was awakened by screaming passengers and was ejected from a broken window as the bus careened down the hill. Seo had a broken ankle, a gash in his arm that required stitches and shallow scratches across his face. He is an exchange student from South Korea studying in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The National Transportation Safety Board said two investigators were expected to arrive at the crash site Monday. It said they will look into why the bus left the road, the condition of the road at the time, the condition of the guardrail, the actions of the driver and operations of the company that owns the bus.
The Oregonian newspaper quoted one survivor, 25-year-old Yoo Byung Woo, as saying he and other passengers thought the bus driver was "going too fast."
"I worried about the bus," he said, adding it was snowing and foggy. Yoo said one rider was frightened and asked if they could take another route. He said some passengers were dozing when the driver slammed on the brakes.
Yoo said rocks smashed through windows after the bus crashed through the guard rail and rolled down. The NTSB said the bus rolled at least once.
Officials said 39 people were taken to hospitals, and 10 of them had been treated and released.
The survivors, who range in age from 7 to 74, were sent to 10 hospitals in Oregon, Washington and Idaho.
Umatilla County Emergency Manager Jack Remillard said the bus was owned by Mi Joo travel in Vancouver, B.C.
Authorities said Monday it could be a month or more before investigators and prosecutors decide whether to file any charges against the bus driver, a 54-year-old Vancouver, B.C., man who was among the injured. He has spoken with investigators, Hastings said.
A bus safety website run by the U.S. Department of Transportation said Mi Joo Tour & Travel has six buses, none of which have been involved in any accidents in at least the past two years.
A spokesman for the NTSB, Peter Knudson, said seatbelts aren't required on such buses. "We have been concerned about this for some time," Knudson said.
More than a dozen rescue workers descended the hill and used ropes to help retrieve people from the wreckage in freezing weather. The bus driver was among the survivors but had not yet spoken to police because of the severity of the injuries the driver had suffered.
The local Red Cross shelter has been offering food, clothing and hotel arrangements for survivors as they are released from the hospital. Relatives of bus passengers have also gone to the shelter, seeking information about their loved ones.
Jake Contor, a Pendleton resident who speaks Korean and helped translate for the Red Cross, said he's spoken with several crash survivors.
"The stories have been fairly consistent: braking, swerving, sliding on the ice, hitting the guardrail, then sliding down the embankment," Contor said.
He said the victims told him that the bus left Boise Sunday morning and was supposed to arrive in Vancouver that night. The survivors who spoke to Contor were seated at the back of the bus and said it appeared that the front and center of the coach sustained the most damage.
The interstate links Boise and Portland through the Blue Mountains and the Columbia Gorge.
AP correspondent Jeff Barnard in Grants Pass, Ore., contributed to this report.
ABOUT THE INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN THE CRASH
From the Oregon State Police: A list of the names being released at this time is shown below. Family members are asked to check the list confirm if someone they know was traveling on the bus. Anyone confirming a name on the list as one of their family members should call the hospital listed for further contact and information. If a name is not on the list, a family representative can call (503) 375-3555. A call taker will obtain the caller's information, forward it to the Oregon State Police Pendleton Area Command office and it will be assigned for contact as soon as possible.
Deceased
- 9 people killed in crash - names are being withheld pending next of kin notifications
Survivors
At St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton
- Haeng Kyu Hwang, 54-year-old male, from Vancouver, British Columbia. He was the bus driver.
- Do Woo (Peter) Kim, 16-year-old male.
- Hyoung Jin Yoo, 16-year-old male. Has been treated and released.
- Young Hyun Yoon, 14-year-old male. Has been treated and released.
- Seong Jun An, 15-year-old male. Has been treated and released.
- Hyejin Kim, 40-year-old female.
- Min Su Kim, 15-year-old male. Has been treated and released.
- Junichi Hanada, 21-year-old male.
- Youn Bahn, 66-year-old male.
- June Lee Seong, 22-year-old female.
- Tae Woo Park, 16-year-old male. Has been treated and released.
- Soomin Kim, 12-year-old female.
- Jimin Kim, 7-year-old female.
- Yoon Kim, 44-year-old male.
- Seongho Jo, 18-year-old male.
- Eunsil Koh, 47-year-old female from Cloverdale, British Columbia.
- Jong Hyun Chae, 16-year-old male. Has been treated and released.
- Byung Woo Yoo, 25-year-old (gender unspecified). Has been treated and released.
- 65-year-old female whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
- An unidentified male between 20 and 25 years old.
At Grande Ronde Hospital in La Grande
- Berlyn Sanderson, 22-year-old female from Kelowna, British Columbia. Has been treated and released.
- Rachel Sohn, 53-year-old female.
- Yii Yeon Cho, 73-year-old (gender unspecificed).
- Jacmin Seo, 23-year-old male.
At Good Shepherd Hospital in Hermiston
- Kang SeoKwon, 24-year-old (gender unspecified). Has been treated and released.
- Alysah Koh, 21-year-old from British Columbia. Has been treated and released.
At Harborview Medical Center in Seattle
- 53-year-old female whose name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
At Oregon Health & Science University in Portland
- June Won Kim, 46-year-old male from Vancouver, B.C.
- Sungsup Kim, 45-year-old male from Port Coquitlam, B.C.
- Michael Sohn, 64-year-old male from Milwaukie, Ore.
- 55-year-old female whose name is eing withheld pending notification of next of kin.
At Kadlec Medical Center in Tri-Cities, Wash.
- Yoonhee Choi, 53-year-old female.
At St. Mary Medical Center in Walla, Walla, Wash.
- Eun Sook Uhm, 74-year-old female.
- Choon-Sook Yang, 67-year-old female from Issaquah, Wash.
- Hee Eun Kim, 46-year-old female from Burnaby, Canada.
At Walla Walla General Hospital in Walla, Walla, Wash.
- Victoria Huang, 22-year-old female.
- Shelly Tu, 23-year-old female.
At Legacy Emanuel Medical Center in Portland
- Man Sun Kim, 71-year-old male from Seattle, Wash.
At St. Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise, Idaho
- John Choi, 56-year-old male.
RESPECT THE HILL: state of Oregon www.oregon.gov  ODOT  Emmigrant Hill
All buses - public, charter, school, need to be equipped with at least a lap seat belt. Their use can be mandatory but they should still be there for people to use. My word, even strollers have some kind of lap belt. Do we just not care about people who aren't riding in cars, or is it all about money?
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 @Tox Interesting read. Apparently you didn't do your research on this particular site incident. The bus was heading DOWN the hill not UP the hill.  There is a 6% downgrade that runs 7 miles with a 2000 foot elevation drop.  www.oregon.gov sites 78% of accidents are caused by out of state motor carriers. Â
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One site I just read said a first responded said there was no ice on the road. Â We will find out when the investigation gives out more information.
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My condolences to all involved, their families and loved one.
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What a horror it must have been going off the road down the slope. It must have been terrifing.
 @Tox Interesting, thank you for the supposition.
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I suppose it is an even worse decision to slam on the brakes on an icy road when one is driving a huge bus than it is in your personal vehicle. Do you think it could have been avoided or at least not been as severe had the driver followed the suggestions for passenger vehicles of easing up on the gas and turning into the skid? Are the "rules" the same for giant vehicles?Â
That is a LOT of hospitals the survivors were transported to.Â
 @whirledworld I wonder if the "pending notification to next of kin" were some of the ones that had died.
I think they should ban all charter buses, loaded with windows.Â
If anyone witnessed this bus driver, driving the bus recklessly or too fast that day, or any other day for that matter, please contact authorities. On the other hand maybe you witnessed the bus driver driving the bus very carefully and slow, you should contact authorities.
Let's connect the dots a little: "The Oregonian newspaper quoted one survivor, 25-year-old Yoo Byung Woo, as saying he and other passengers thought the bus driver was "going too fast." "
"Byung Woo Yoo, 25-year-old (gender unspecified). Has been treated and released."Â
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In Korean, the surname is printed first, so this is Yoo Byung Woo, who stated that HE and other passengers thought the driver was going to fast.
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HE is male.
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And the survivors are all very lucky to survive the frigid cold and terrible accident that occurred.Â
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 @washcomom Good catch!  Duh.  Thanks for the information on names.  Most of us don't know last name are listed first or know the gender because we aren't familiar with their names.  I read the 25 year old was a guy but didn't pay attention to the bottom because all the names are unfamiliar to me.