Storm May Have Caused Rockslide That Killed 5 on Bus
A severe thunderstorm may have triggered a rockslide that sheared off the front of a Greyhound bus, killing five people and injuring 14, police said Tuesday.
The accident occurred late Monday as the driver and 20 passengers traveled on a mountainous strip of New Mexico 68 above the rain-swollen Rio Grande, about 50 miles north of Santa Fe. The bus was en route to El Paso from Denver, via Albuquerque.
A boulder tumbled from the mountain as the bus approached, striking it broadside and apparently killing the driver instantly, police said.
“It sheared the front end of the bus off,” state police officer Harold Zuni said.
Witnesses said that, after the boulder hit, the bus crashed into several large rocks but remained upright. The rocks probably prevented the bus from careening off a steep embankment and plummeting into the Rio Grande, said the Rev. Andrew McComb, a Dixon Fire Department volunteer.
State police officer T. R. Rodella said the rain might have set off the slide. “It’s been raining off and on here all day,” he said.
The driver was identified as Gaylon Greer Parks, 39, of Denver.
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