Inspectors Say Crashed Charter Bus Was Mechanically Sound
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Inspectors found nothing mechanically wrong Monday with a charter bus that ran off a winding road and overturned while carrying a group of girls from a Laguna Niguel church to a retreat near Idyllwild.
“We found that (the bus) had no mechanical problems,” California Highway Patrol spokesman Craig Rentle said, noting that the investigation was continuing.
The bus driver, James A. Miller III, 35, of Wilmington, told officers that he got lost and was looking at a map when the bus slid off California 74. He was not cited pending completion of the investigation.
The bus--one of three chartered for the weekend outing--was carrying a group of girls and four chaperons from Coast Hills Community Church to a retreat at a ranch in Riverside County. The passengers suffered only minor or moderate injuries.
The bus apparently swerved off the highway in the rugged mountains on the route to Palm Desert. The vehicle rolled over on its right side and slid down a hill.
The bus had seat belts, but most of the passengers were not using them, authorities said.
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