Tour Bus Slams Into Slowing Traffic on Freeway; 21 Hurt

A group of senior citizens from Inglewood were among more than 20 people injured Wednesday when their tour bus failed to stop for slowing traffic on the San Diego Freeway, the California Highway Patrol said.

Four vehicles were involved in the 9:30 a.m. crash in the car-pool lane, which caused commuter traffic to back up into Los Angeles County.

The pileup occurred as traffic slowed to a stop because of congestion. A van, a pickup truck and two buses were involved, but no one was seriously injured.

The tour bus, operated by Red Carpet Lines Inc. of Los Angeles and carrying 42 senior citizens, hit a bus in front “pretty hard and knocked the front bus about eight feet,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Lyle Whitten. The front bus rear-ended a pickup truck, which then rear-ended a van.

Still, Whitten said, “it could have been far worse. But we lucked out here.”

Alan D. Henderson, 43, of Long Beach, a passenger in the pickup, suffered severe back strain.

The Red Carpet tour bus had left Inglewood at 8:45 a.m. and was due to arrive at the Lawrence Welk Village in Escondido approximately two hours later. The passengers were members of the Siminski Club, a senior citizens club in Inglewood.

Most of the victims reportedly had only minor injuries, but 21 people, including 19 from the tour bus, were sent to area hospitals as a precaution, Whitten said.

The tour bus was driven by Nathan Manuel, 33, of Los Angeles, who has no driving convictions, a Department of Motor Vehicles spokeswoman said. A Red Carpet company spokesman, Wilbur Cotton, described Manuel as its “No. 1 driver.” Cotton also said the bus in Wednesday’s accident was safe and had no mechanical problems.

“No matter how good the brakes are, it takes time to stop it,” Cotton said. “It’s just one of those things that happen on the freeway.”

A CHP spokesman said the agency will investigate the accident. No citations were issued.