The charter tour bus that crashed Saturday evening outside Yosemite National Park, injuring more than a dozen people, was traveling at an unsafe speed when the driver lost control, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The bus was leaving Yosemite on California 41, or Wawona Road, about 6 p.m., when it veered off the roadway and angled up a dirt embankment, according to a CHP report. As the driver attempted to regain control of the vehicle, the bus crossed both lanes of traffic and struck a tree.
“If the tree wasn’t there to stop the bus, it would have continued down a ravine,” CHP Patrol Sgt. Edward Green told the Fresno Bee. The bus came to a stop with its two rear tires in the air.
Seventeen people were aboard the vehicle; 15 passengers and a tour guide sustained minor to moderate injuries in the crash, authorities said. The driver was uninjured.
