Highway 330 shut down after Downey church bus overturns near San Bernardino

SAN BERNARDINO >> A small tour bus carrying 22 members of a Downey church from a retreat in Big Bear overtued Sunday afteoon on Highway 330 two miles north of the 210 Freeway, injuring nearly two-dozen people – six seriously – and blocking the road in both directions.

About 5:15 p.m., the Califoia Highway Patrol reported that the bus had been removed, but both lanes of the highway are expected to remain closed for about two more hours while the crash investigation continues. Northbound traffic is being stopped at Highland Avenue in Highland, and southbound traffic at the ranger station.

More than 200 women from Iglesia de Cristo Ministerios Llamada Final were traveling in five or six buses from an aual retreat meeting in the San Beardino Mountains, said Robert Acosta, the assistant to the senior pastor.

• Photos: Tour bus crashes on Highway 330 near San Beardino

The bus that crashed had 22 passengers onboard, said Jeremy Ke of the San Beardino County Fire Department.

AMR ambulances were lined up one after the other to transport the patients to various hospitals after they were assessed and treated at a makeshift triage area at the crash scene.

“At one point, there was contact between the front of the 2000 El Dorado bus and the rear of a 2013 Nissan Versa before the bus overtued at 2:11 p.m.,” CHP spokesman Juan Quintero said.

Of the bus passengers wounded, six suffered major but non life-threatening injures, Quintero said. No one in the Versa was injured.

Several of the first responders said they smelled the distinct odor of overheated brakes when they first arrived on scene, but Quintero said it’s too early in the investigation to say what caused the crash.

The CHP’s Major Accident Investigation Team is looking into the cause. The bus will be taken as evidence and will undergo an inspection.

Acosta said the bus that crashed belongs to the church, while the rest of the retreat-goers were in four or five rented full-size buses. The church-owned bus is inspected periodically by the CHP and used at least twice a week, he said. To his knowledge, it was in good condition.

• Video: CHP gives details on Highway 330 bus crash

“We got the news right after regular Sunday service,” Acosta said. “It was uerving, but we immediately pulled together our key leadership team to see what we could do to help our families.”

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He and some of the families had gathered at the church Sunday evening to await more information from authorities. As vanloads of people arrived, they were greeted by hugs and then went inside.

“This is unsettling news, but as Christians we believe those who love the Lord will have faith and stand together,” Acosta said. “We are hoping and praying that all will be well.”

Parishioner Denise Mayorga of Whittier was on one of the other buses, which were ahead of the one that flipped. They didn’t see what happened, but they stopped when they leaed about the crash.

Mayorga said she talked with a nurse and her husband who were a few cars behind the crash and went to help. The couple said when they got there, they saw smoking tires and a lot of blood.

When the passengers on the other bus leaed of the crash, Mayorga said, the prayers started immediately.

“It was terrible news to get. It was nerve-wracking,” she said. “We pray that everyone will be all right. We will pray for our people.”