14 Hurt as Stalled Bus Rolls Into Ditch

Fourteen people were injured after a tour bus in which they were riding stalled near Palmdale, then rolled backward into a ditch when the driver tried to move it out of traffic, the California Highway Patrol reported Monday.

The accident occurred at 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the bus owned by Valley Travel of Van Nuys stalled while returning to the San Fernando Valley from a trip to Las Vegas, Officer Gil Torres said. The injuries were mostly minor, with the most serious being a broken arm.

The bus, driven by Barbara J. Loving, 45, of Agua Dulce, and carrying 40 senior citizens, stalled while heading onto the Antelope Valley Freeway, Torres said.

After CHP officers arrived on the scene, Loving attempted to roll the bus backward out of the traffic lane. It went 100 feet before tumbling off the shoulder and dropping six feet down an embankment into a ditch, officials said.

“It kept going back and crashed down into the ditch,” said Helen Schiro, 76, of North Hollywood, a passenger. “All our seats collapsed. There was screaming and people on top of each other.”