2014 — April 11, FedEx truck hits High School Charter Bus, I-5 near Orland, CA– 10
— 10 Lake County News, CA. “FedEx driver in deadly Orland crash identified.” 4-16-2014.
— 10 USA Today (Welch, et al.). “Answers sought after fiery wreck kills 10.” 4-11-2014.
USA Today (Welch), April 11: “Authorities were trying to determine Friday why a FedEx truck roared across the grassy median of a Northern California freeway and slammed into a charter bus, causing a fiery explosion that left 10 people dead and dozens more injured. The National Transportation Safety Board sent an investigative “go team” from Washington to the scene on Interstate 5 near the town of Orland, about 100 miles north of Sacramento. California Highway Patrol dispatcher Curtis Pahlka said the crash was reported at 5:41 p.m. Thursday. It killed the drivers of the truck and bus, five students and three chaperones…. The bus passengers were high school seniors on their way to visit the campus of Humboldt State University in Arcata, Calif….
“Many of the more than 40 students on board escaped through a window one of them had kicked open, running from the wreckage before the bus exploded behind them. One emergency responder said that as many as 37 people needed treatment for injuries such as burns, broken bones and cuts….
“Tommy Chang, the instructional superintendent for the Los Angeles School District, confirmed that students from Los Angeles schools were involved in the wreck, but he declined to provide further details.” (Welch, Copeland, and Bacon. “Answers sought after fiery wreck kills 10.” USA Today, 4-11-2014.)
Lake County News, CA, April 16: “Northern California — An Elk Grove man has been formally identified by authorities as the driver of a FedEx semi truck involved in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 near Orland last week that killed 10 people and injured dozens more. On Tuesday evening [April 15], Glenn County Sheriff Larry Jones said the driver of the FedEx semi was 32-year-old Timothy Paul Evans. Evans was in a FedEx-owned 2007 Volvo semi pulling two trailers traveling southbound near Orland shortly after 5:40 p.m. Thursday, April 10, when – for reasons that are still not known – he crossed the median, sideswiped a Nissan Altima and collided head-on with a 2014 Setra motorcoach operated by Silverado Stages of San Luis Obispo. Evans was among the 10 people who died in the crash, along with the bus driver, and five Southern California students and three chaperones traveling to an April 11 event for prospective students at Humboldt State University, according to the investigating agencies.
“Another 34 people were injured, among them additional students, and Bonnie Duran, driver of the Nissan Altima, and her husband Joe of Lake Tapps, Wash.
“Earlier on Tuesday, Jones released the names of three other crash victims identified by his agency, including the driver of the bus, Talalelei Feleni Lealao-Taiao, 53, of Sacramento; Michael Lee Myvett Jr., 29, of Los Angeles, a chaperone on the bus trip; Ismael Jimenez, age 18, a student from Inglewood, as Lake County News has reported.
“Last week, Humboldt State said Arthur Arzola, one of its admissions office staffers who was accompanying the students on their trip, was among the victims.
“The Glenn County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office is working to finish the identifications on the remaining victims, Jones said.
“The National Transportation Safety Board, which sent a team from Washington, DC to Orland last week, said its investigators are remaining on scene for the next several days. NTSB Board Member Mark Rosekind said this week that Evans had traveled from Sacramento to Weed earlier on the day of the crash. There, he dropped off two trailers and picked up two others. The front trailer at the time of the crash was partially loaded, with the second trailer empty.
“Investigators are collecting manifests to determine the specifics of that partial load, especially if there was any hazardous material that the load included, Rosekind said. Bonnie Duran told the NTSB that she saw flames coming out from underneath the cab of the FedEx truck before it sideswiped her and hit the motorcoach head on. However, Rosekind said this week, “Our fire group has examined the accident scene and vehicles. There is no evidence of pre-impact fire located at the accident scene, on the median or on the highway.” NTSB investigators also said that tire marks indicated the FedEx truck didn’t brake while traveling through the median or into the northbound lanes. It was after the truck and bus hit head-on that the vehicles burst into flames, according to the initial investigative reports….
“The area has 58-foot-wide medians lined with oleander bushes. He said that when medians are wider than 50 feet, barriers are an option and are not required….”(Lake County News, CA (E. Larson). “FedEx driver in deadly Orland crash identified.” 4-16-2014. Accessed 4-16-2014.)
Sources
Lake County News, CA (Elizabeth Larson). “FedEx driver in deadly Orland crash identified.” 4-16-2014. Accessed 4-16-2014 at: http://www.lakeconews.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=36361:regional-fedex-driver-in-deadly-orland-crash-identified&catid=1:latest&Itemid=197
USA Today ( William M. Welch, Larry Copeland, and John Bacon). “Answers sought after fiery wreck kills 10.” 4-11-2014. Accessed 4-11-2014 at: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/04/10/calif-crash-9-killed/7579275/