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The bus now sits at a towing yard in South Fresno. Investigators with the CHP major accident investigative team took measurements of the bus.
Six people died in the crash, which happened shortly after two in the morning Thursday.
The bus stopped at the Greyhound terminal in Downtown Fresno just minutes before colliding with an overturned Chevy Trailblazer on Highway 99 near the McKinley off ramp.
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Authorities have released what could be a major piece of evidence as that investigation unfolds.
Thursday's accident on Highway 99 near the McKinley exit started with a wreck involving a Chevy Trailblazer.
The vehicle was lying in the middle of the road and was struck by the Greyhound bus.
Friday afternoon the Highway Patrol released a recording of the emergency calls made just minutes before the Greyhound bus collided with the trailblazer.
(Listen to one of the calls in the video)
It'll still not clear how the accident involving the Trailblazer happened.
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Members of the Highway Patrol's "MAIT" or Major Accident Investigation Team examined the bus at a tow yard in Southwest Fresno. They're also looking closely at the SUV the bus ran into, and another SUV involved in the crash.
CHP Spokesman Mike Radke said, "We know what happened physically we don't know why it happened."
Preliminary investigations at the scene and especially eyewitness accounts provided the key information. The CHP says the best account came from Fresno cab driver Mike Coupland.
"Just as I was getting to the slow lane, the bus was getting to the fast lane. Side by side at the same time. We were going up to the crest as soon we went over the crest there was a car sitting on its side blacked out no lights no nothing and I just barely missed it. He just broadsided it, exploded into pieces everywhere."
Coupland said he would have hit the SUV, if he hadn't changed lanes to let the bus go by. He said there was no way the bus driver could have avoided the collision with the overturned SUV.
The question remains as to why the SUV overturned. "We're trying to figure out what caused the initial crash of the trailblazer. We do have some indication it swerved from one location to another location," said Radke.
It appears the SUV swerved to the right. The driver apparently over corrected to the left. The vehicle then hit the median and overturned. Three young women were trapped inside.
The bus was heading north, in the fast lane, hit the overturned SUV then veered to the right, down and embankment into a tree.
A third vehicle, a Honda SUV had been alongside the bus, in the slow lane, and was forced off the highway by the bus.
The crash investigation is expected to take months, because it involves far more than examining the wreckage.
Mike Coupland said he's still shaken and disturbed by what he saw, six lives taken in an instant.
"Everything's gone, yeah. Your life can be over in a fraction of a second. Nothing you can do about it. Not even knowing," said Coupland.
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The small town of Dinuba is mourning the loss of a life-long resident who died in the bus crash.
Sylvia Garay grew up in Dinuba. She was driving the SUV that was hit by the bus. SUV passengers Vanessa Gonzalez, and Stephanie Cordoba were also killed.
The 18-year-old Garay worked at a busy beauty salon in Downtown Dinuba. A former co-worker says Sylvia was a hard worker who was planning to take the state board exam to become a cosmetologist.
Sylvia graduated from the Paul Mitchell school of Fresno where she met her friend Vanessa Gonzalez.
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The family of the Greyhound bus driver is remembering him as a good father and a loyal employee.
57-year-old James Jewett lived in Sacramento and worked for Greyhound for 32 years. His daughters Kristina and Jennifer say their dad had a perfect driving record. They say when he wasn't behind the wheel ... he liked spending time with his family and rooting for the San Francisco Giants.
Jewett's daughters also responded to questions about whether their father was drinking before the crash. They said they have never seen their father drink any alcohol.
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James Jewett's wife says he was behind the wheel of a bus during a close call more than twenty years ago. She says he was on the San Francisco Bay Bridge when the Loma Prieta Earthquake struck in 1989 ... driving a Greyhound bus full of passengers at the time.
A section of the bridge collapsed during that quake. More than 40 people died and dozens of others were injured.
Jewett's wife says he received applause from passengers for getting them across the bridge safely that day.
