Spilled cargo causes bus crash that kills 4

BLYTHE, Calif. -- A tractor-trailer spilled a load of steel pipes onto a highway, triggering a bus crash Wednesday that killed four people and seriously injured several others on the main road linking Southern California and Arizona, authorities said.

The crash occurred around 2:15 a.m., just west of Blythe near the Arizona border, where the eastbound truck jackknifed onto the median and spilled its cargo into all lanes in both directions, said Terri Kasinga of the California Department of Transportation.

The westbound bus either swerved to avoid the pipes or struck them and overturned, sliding across the shoulder and 50 feet down a slight embankment, Kasinga said. The bus, with 32 confirmed passengers, was traveling from El Paso to Los Angeles.

Four vehicles in the eastbound lanes also crashed, and several people were transported to hospitals in unknown conditions.

The four fatalities were aboard the bus, Kasinga said.

Helicopters transported several critically hurt passengers to hospitals.

Traffic was backed up for miles in both directions, and drivers were urged to find alternate routes.

All lanes of the interstate were to remain closed until at least Wednesday afternoon, Kasinga said.

The bus, operated by El Paso-Los Angeles Limousine Express Inc., had switched drivers in Phoenix, Kasinga said. It was not known if the driver was among the victims. The company sent smaller charter buses to transport the uninjured passengers.

A message seeking comment from the bus company was not immediately returned.

The California Highway Patrol was investigating.

Blythe is a city of about 25,000 people in eastern Riverside County, about 225 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.