California IN BRIEF : BIG PINE : CHP Says Driver Tried to Control Bus

The driver of a runaway bus packed with European tourists did his best to avoid a mountain highway accident in an incident that killed a tourist and injured 46 others, officials said. “He told me he was in third (gear),” said California Highway Patrol Sgt. Ray Dixon. “After the brakes were failing and he could smell them burning, he came out of third to downshift, and he couldn’t get into second.” The bus continued to pick up speed while driver Juan Garcia Jr., 30, wrestled to gain control, scraping the mountainside on its way down steep, winding California 168, the sergeant said. The bus eventually plunged over a six-foot embankment into a flat area of rocks and brush. Marguerite Finat, 60, of Marseilles, France was killed.