2 Die, 28 Hurt When Bus Flips

Two people died and 28 were injured when a bus returning handicapped children and other patients to a Calexico clinic from treatment in Los Angeles-area hospitals flipped over on its side on California 86, 20 miles northwest of Brawley, officials reported today.

Fourteen of the injured remained in Brawley and El Centro hospitals this morning. The bus was returning patients to Valley Orthopedic Clinic; the patients ranged in age from 3 to 85 and all were Mexican citizens, a clinic spokeswoman said. One of the dead was immediately identified as Maria Godoy, 85, of Mexicali. The driver of the clinic-owned bus, Rafael Ramirez-Chavez, 37, of Mexicali was booked for suspicion of vehicular manslaughter. A California Highway Patrol spokesman said there was no immediate explanation for the accident, which occurred shortly after 10 p.m. Monday, and an investigation is continuing.