9 dead, more than 20 hurt in bus crash on icy I-84
PENDLETON, Ore. – At least nine people died after a passenger bus slid off the ice on Interstate 84 and crashed hundreds of feet down an embankment Sunday morning, police said.
26 people were taken to St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton after the crash, and five of those people were rushed to other hospitals for treatment.
"We were able to bring in the amount of physicians and nurses needed to handle the situation even though we are a small, 25-bed critical access hospital," said Larry Blanc with St. Anthony.
State Police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said the bus slid off the westbound lanes east of Pendleton at around 10:30 a.m.
"That hill, Emigrant Hill, rises up over 4,000 feet where this accident took place in a very short amount of miles," said Blanc.
The bus crashed through a guardrail and slid several hundred feet down an embankment before coming to a stop.
"Most of the patients had been ejected from the bus on the way down," said Lt. Steve Brost with the Pendleton Fire Department. "I've been a firefighter for 20 years and this is the first time I've seen anything like this."
The accident happened on the west end of the Blue Mountains, and west of an area called "Deadman Pass," where stretches of the highway tend to be icy in winter months, Hastings said. It happened near milepost 227.
Rescuers used ropes to pull people from the crash scene back to the highway.
Hastings said the bus is owned by Mi Joo Tour & Travel of Vancouver, B.C.
The bus was to Vancouver, B.C. from Las Vegas. The total number of passengers is still unclear.
Four survivors are at OHSU in Portland, a spokesperson said.
The bus driver survived the crash, Hastings said. Investigators are not able to speak with him due to the severity of his injuries.
The names of the victims will be released after thir families are notified, said Hastings. It's unclear how long that could take because the victims are believed to be from another country.
The crash was the second of two deadly crashes along I-84 Sunday.
69-year-old Freeman Glenn Thomason of Post Falls, Idaho died in a rollover crash east of Stanfield, Ore. on I-84, Hastings said. It happened just before 7 a.m.
The driver, 26-year-old Timothy Hancock, was taken to a hospital. Hastings said he’s expected to survive.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Here is an exact GOOGLE MAP with street view from spokesman.com comments section.
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https://maps.google.com/maps?q=emigrant+hill+ODOT+weigh+station&hl=en&ll=45.593024,-118.533173&spn=0.002128,0.004823&sll=45.585452,-118.597798&sspn=0.008515,0.01929&t=k&z=18&layer=c&cbll=45.593,-118.5333&panoid=aaZ0Nh-ifdU7bFax7kyTeA&cbp=12,281.88,,0,0
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2012/dec/30/five-killed-charter-bus-skids-interstate-near-pend/
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Here is my short GOOGLE URL to this place over view of this stretch of I-84Â highway mile post 227 emigrant hill ODOTÂ Truck Weigh Station
http://goo.gl/maps/URdcF
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Realize the need to SLOW DOWN in ICY conditions from this comment from Sunshine at Spokesman.com and from Thesa Chambes below about thick ICE from the fog.
Sunshine4me on December 30 at 8:53 p.m.
We just went through there yesterday!! Very icy, and extremely (!!!) foggy - yet people were still in such a hurry. There was a fog warning on the electric sign boards, but you just arenât prepared when you hit a wall of clouds. So sad to hear about this tragic accident.
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Hey Governor, when will you tell ODOT to start using salt on our roads to keep them clear and safe? You now have blood of 9 innocent people on your hands. Â This could have been prevented if you would only stand up to the environmentalists and use products that are proven effective on keeping our roads safe.
Or people could just learn to slow down and drive safely.Â
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Cars in the NE are lucky to last 10 years before they are rusted out. No thanks.
 @2012 Hope and Change You're assuming that just because you slow down and drive safely that others will do the same.  Cars in states that use rock salt mixes on their roadways last a lot longer than the 10 years that you quote.  Truck and car manufacturers design coatings for their products that resist the corrosive properties of road salt and therefore it's a non issue.
 @pdxtvguy Oh sure...like they don't have tragic weather-related accidents back east of anywhere else there are steep sides to icy roads. Get a grip. Safe driving is everything as well as having the proper traction devices in weather like this and roads like this.
 @whirledworld  @pdxtvguy Have you heard  of any?
 @pdxtvguysalts only proven to rot our under carriages, the driver should have used his head when speeding down there
 @Drinkers Anonymous Are they?  Are all those vehicles on the coast falling apart in front of our eyes?  Don't think so.  20 years ago? Maybe.  Not anymore.  It's time to look at safety rather than convenience.
 @pdxtvguy are you saying there's less accidents on the east cost? Remember the Bronx bus crash? And yes I have had my 2008 jeep's break lines fail due to the salt.
http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?section=news/local/new_york&id=8009476
This is just east of the weigh station at the top of Cabbage Hill, at this point the bus would be going up hill
 @Tim Correct.  Its still a bit east from where the downhill section begins.  Going west.  :-)Â
 @Tim Not if you are headed West that is downhill
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 @minniemouse  @Tim Tim is right, the bus went of the road before the weight station. that is going up hill, you do not go down hill untill you pass the weight station.
 @Thesa Chambers  @Dennis Mahood  @minniemouse  @Tim  Greetings Thesa.  The closest curve to the accident site is just over a mile to the east.  Where you on Old Emigrant Road?  How long after the crash did you arrive?  Sounds like a couple minutes maybe?Â
 @Dennis Mahood  @minniemouse  @Tim we came around the corner - and had just straightened out with a slight incline when we came upon this accident - the photo make is look flat and straight it is misleading - the layer of ice was pretty thick from the freezing fogÂ
Kudos to the Pendleton EMS crews and Emergency Medicine staff at St. Anthony's Hospital. These MCI's (Mass Casualty Incidents) can be incredibly challenging for rural parts of our country. It takes a lot of teamwork, effective communication, and emotionally supporting each other - now, and in the days to come. From those of us who are your Emergency Medicine Brothers and Sisters here in Portland - GREAT job folks!Â
Doesn't look like the guardrail construction held up very well at all.
The guard rails are mainly for small vehicle traffic. If they were made to handle big rigs (Or Tour Buses) they'd be massive.
How tragic. RIP all those that lost their life. I hope the injured recover quickly. Sad that so many posters here are so hell bent on their own agenda. People died in this accident. Have a little more respect.
Seat belts on buses should be available to passengers. Not mandatory, but available.
Luckily the bus didn't catch fire after the accident.
The driver was a 26-year -old man. There's the explanation. Commercial transportation insurance requires that drivers be at least 25 and have three years of experience. It would be a hard sell to me and harder to my insurance to try and pass through a 26-year-old driver; I need to get references and background on someone that age before they pass insurance requirements. But again, I don't live in ultra-liberal OR or WA; I live in snow-covered ultra-red ND, where people make sure drivers are qualified before they let them loose with a busload of people.
 @Star96 Star,  the bus driver was from Vancouver B.C.,  I believe that is still in Canada.  Oh and yes, I am one of those liberal, who lives in Oregon.  And tonight I will say a prayer for all who was on the bus. Â
 @Star96 Wrong on all counts. You're no better at screening drivers than people in the NW, despite your attempt to politicize the matter.
I was wrong and did apologize, but being a trucking company owner in both WA and ND, it is a heck of a lot harder to obtain commercial insurance in ND than WA. And no, "Felines99", I am not wrong. I at least make sure my drivers are approved by my commercial policy before I set them loose in a commercial vehicle and my husband makes damn sure they know how to drive in the ice and snow.
 @Star96 Fail.
Not an OR or WA driver...you stand corrected again....the bus was from Vancouver, British Columbia...meaning canada, the driver was a canuck
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 @Star96 You ARE wrong because you are attributing the difference to politics!
 @Star96 Get out uh here troll!
@Star96 Nope the Bus drivers age has not been determined... The 26 year old was driving an F-350 and rolled it ..
The crash was the second of two deadly crashes along I-84 Sunday.
Just before 7 a.m., a 69-year-old man died in a rollover crash east of Stanfield, Ore. on I-84, Hastings said. The driver, a 26-year-old man, was taken to a hospital. Hastings said heâs expected to survive.
I stand corrected - Thank you!
 @Star96 That was rude
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Are you running a company that provides income for five employees? Do you often do without so that you meet payroll while trying to work out cash flow? Well feel free to tell me when you do and I might consider your opinion. Other than that, shut your lazy sloven mouth and go thank your employer if you actually have one.
 @Star96 Now that you stand corrected, go lie down shut up!
I drove from LaGrande to Pendleton and home 5 days a week for 3 years, and now drive it every other week to pick up my kids. The roads today would be what us East Oregonians consider good winter conditions. Christmas day roads were nastier, icier and snow packed. But we always drive it with caution and respect for black ice and "idiots" who drive too fast, dont use chains, or aren't driving for the conditions. ODOT does an excellent job keeping these roads maintained in winter. This wreck was not yet on the Cabbage Hill downgrade but on the straight flat stretch before you get there. Drivers need to respect winter driving on this stretch on I-84
 @tdf97850 I drive I-84 also.  I live in La Grande.  You are so right!  You need to be ready for the conditions and slow down!
foreigners got to be more careful on roads they don't know well, rest in peace.
A horrible stretch of road having lived in La Grande for two years - we never took that part of the highway for granted, ever. My heart hurts for the loss-of-life having worked Traffic Homicide for too many years!! OSP has their work cut-out on this tragedy...
This is a major tragedy. If the high capacity bus wasn't carrying so many people, this likely could have been avoided. Hopefully President Obama will call for stronger bus control, a ban on high capacity buses and more regulation.
Rest in peace travelers :(
 @Unknown
That same joke gets applied to everything nowadays. Pretty boring, actually.
 @StealthActivist  @Unknown I don't think it's a joke. It's pointing out that anything and everything can be dangerous and kill lots of people all at one time and there is often nothing that can be done to prevent it or predict it.
 @Unknown severe sarcasm or just portland weird?
@Unknown Your humor is a little perverse.
 @peckishpete Really it is just following the example set by our elected officials.
Flagged as offensive actually.
Why is it people feel the need to come off with the jokes or comments especially after so many deaths.
There may be a time or place for the comments about "high capacity bus", however in my opinion, this is not it.
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I really hope that the family members do not read this forum and see comments like yours.
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May they Rest In Peace!
 @Just Lookin Its no more offensive then people freaking out  all over lawful firearms owners.. Right after a total psycho STOLE weapons and went on a killing spree.. Â
 @Just Lookin Freedom of Speech...that's the First Amendment. You don't have to agree with it but we are all entitled to it....for now.
 @leapfrogger  @Just Lookin Second Amendment first.. Then the First amendment that's how totalitarian regimes work..
 @leapfrogger  @Just Lookin Actually this is not a government-owned message board. The owners can censor anything they want.
 @Unknown A little sarcasm there and most folks have no idea - Dianne Feinstein is the one, actually...