Driver in Bus Crash Was Reading Map : Accident: No charges have been filed in incident. Vehicle plunged off mountain highway, injuring 26 teen-age girls on church retreat.

The driver of a charter bus who crashed on a winding mountain highway near Palm Desert told California Highway Patrol officers Saturday that he was lost and had been looking at his map book when he accidentally drove off the road.

The right tires slid onto the dirt shoulder, authorities said, and the driver, James A. Miller III, 35, of Wilmington, tried to get the vehicle back onto the road. But the bus skidded off the highway and came to rest on a mound of boulders about 50 feet below the pavement.

The accident injured 26 teen-age girls and four chaperons from Coast Hills Community Church in Laguna Niguel. Most of the injuries were minor. The bus--one of three chartered for trip--was carrying the group from the church to a retreat near Idyllwild in Riverside County.

Authorities impounded the vehicle Friday night for mechanical inspection. Miller was not cited, pending further investigation, CHP officials said.

Before the crash, riders said the bus was bustling with activity and conversation. Although the vehicle was equipped with seat belts, most were not used, authorities said.

The bus accident was the second involving youngsters in the Palm Springs area in recent months. In July, a charter bus carrying a group of Girl Scouts from across the nation crashed on the road leading to the Palm Springs Tramway. Four girls, two adult passengers and the bus driver were killed. Forty-seven were injured.

After Friday’s accident, the teen-agers were taken to various hospitals. Later, they went to Palm Desert City Hall, where they were counseled by trauma specialists.

They were encouraged to share their experiences, and many did as they gathered at the Stouffer Esmerelda Resort hotel Saturday morning. The swank hotel offered to house them and their parents for a night without charge.

“I was on top of somebody, and everybody was on top of me,” said Sarah Butler, 12, of San Juan Capistrano. “I couldn’t get out. I was like kicking and stuff, and I started walking over people, crying.”

Amy Esser, 13, said she only recalled hearing a thud and waking up in the hospital.

Her mother, Kathy Esser, 39, heard about the accident while watching television in bed. “I jerked up and said, ‘No, it can’t be,’ but somehow I knew Amy was on that bus,” Esser said. Her lips bruised and her left arm in a blue cast that supported her broken wrist, Amy tried to decide whether to go home with her parents or go on to the retreat. In the end, Amy and more than half of the girls on the bus decided to return home.