1 killed, 27 hurt in Sierra Nevada shuttle bus crash

One passenger was killed and 27 were injured when a shuttle bus carrying employees of an upscale mountain resort crashed Saturday morning on the main highway through the Sierra Nevada.

The bus, operated by the Resort at Squaw Creek, was traveling west on Interstate 80 when it veered to the right, said Officer Steve Skeen of the California Highway Patrol.

He said witnesses reported that it looked as if the driver was pulling the bus over to the right shoulder, but it hit a metal guardrail and rolled over at least once before landing back on its wheels. An investigation is continuing.

Skeen said there were about 30 passengers. Pablo Olivas, 25, of Reno was pinned under the bus and pronounced dead at the scene. The injured, including the driver, were taken to hospitals, four by helicopter, Skeen said.

The driver, who has not been identified, was being interviewed by officers. Skeen said the bus, as is typical, did not have passenger seat belts.

Les Pedersen, a spokesman for the Resort at Squaw Creek, told the Associated Press that the bus was transporting employees from Reno.

“The driver had a very good record,” Pedersen said. “The bus had no mechanical problems that I’m aware of.”

The resort is north of Lake Tahoe at the foot of the Squaw Valley USA ski resort, site of the 1960 Winter Games, and is separately owned.

Bella Fritz, a passerby from Sparks, Nev., described the scene before authorities arrived.

“One guy was stuck under the bus,” she told the Reno Gazette-Journal. “I ran back and got a blanket and covered one lady who had flown out of it and hit her head on a rock. She was in bad shape but breathing. I rubbed her back until someone got here.”

The crash shut down Interstate 80 in both directions. Eastbound lanes reopened after about 90 minutes, but the westbound lanes remained closed for several hours.