Carlsbad, Calif. – Carlsbad police say passengers on a charter bus carrying Colorado businesspeople took quick action when the driver collapsed.
Passengers grabbed the wheel and steered the bus through a barrier and about 400 feet down an embankment, bringing it to a stop.
The incident happened around 7 p.m. PST Thursday, near a Four Seasons resort in Carlsbad.
The bus was carrying 50 people between luxury resorts for an awards dinner. Three members of the group were staff members with the Greenwood Village office of Thomson Scientific and Healthcare, according to company spokesman Jason Stewart.
As of this afternoon police were uncertain exactly who had grabbed the wheel. Initial reports were that it was female passenger, later reports indicated a male passenger, according to Lt. Bill Rowland with Carlsbad Police.
Sixteen people sustained mostly minor injuries, according to Rowland.
By the time emergency workers arrived, many had gotten out of the bus and efforts were underway to resuscitate the driver, who could not be revived. He was declared dead at the scene.
The driver for the Sun Diego Charter Co. was in his 50s, but his name was not released. The company did not immediately respond to a Denver Post request for comment.
Passengers told police that, before the trip began, the bus quickly filled up and more passengers hoped to stand during the drive. The driver refused to take more people than could be seated. Police believe the driver saved lives by insisting that extra passengers wait for the next bus.
An article on The North County Times’ website quotes Leanne Wells of Denver, who works for Thomson Micromedex in Greenwood Village. She was one of the people turned away by the driver. Wells said the accident happened just moments after the bus pulled out of sight.
“We heard a nasty noise, and we just went running, and we saw that it had gone down,” she said.
Rowland believed that the business conference included people from all over the world, with up to 700 people attending an international conference. He was uncertain how many of the people on board the bus were from the Denver area.
An investigation by police into the accident is now underway. Rowland said the California Highway Patrol would not be involved because the accident happened on private property belonging to Four Seasons.
