Forty-one people were injured early this morning when a Denver-bound bus and two semi-trucks crashed on Interstate 80 in Nebraska, according to the Nebraska State Patrol.
The crash happened about 2 a.m. two miles east of the Gibbon exit, said Deb Collins, a Nebraska State Patrol spokeswoman.
Forty-one people were taken to a hospital in Kearney, including the Burlington Trailways bus driver who is in critical condition.
The driver, Michelle Anderson, 50, of Omaha, has more than nine years experience and about 850,000 accident-free miles, said Dan Ronan, of the American Bus Association, a spokesman for Trailways.
The passengers that were able to travel after the accident arrived in Denver on a charter bus a little after 3 p.m.
Jimmy Strickland, traveling from Florida, walked off the bus pushing a stroller with his infant son in it.
Strickland said most the passengers were sleeping when the accident happened.
“All of the sudden you heard the bus driver scream ‘Oh my God’ and boom,” Strickland said. “It just disintegrated, its something you wouldn’t expect to see in a life time.”
Strickland said he was riding in the back of the bus and the impact threw his son under the seat in front of him.
The Nebraska patrol said a westbound semi driven by Mohamed Arguini, 39, of Antioch, Tenn., drifted into the median and the driver overcorrected, causing the rig, which was hauling dried cereal, to tip on to its side, blocking the highway.
A second semi, driven by Gary Middleswart, 61, of Minden, Neb., clipped the overturned trailer and crashed into a ditch. Middleswart was not injured.
The westbound bus and its 40 passengers hit the semi that had overturned.
Anderson, Arguini and 39 passengers were taken to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney. Both drivers and three passengers were admitted with injuries that are not life-threatening.
The others were were treated for minor injuries and released.
A service dog, belonging to one of the passangers, died in the crash, according to Ronan.
A six-mile stretch of westbound I-80 was closed for about 4½ hours. All lanes reopened about 6:30 a.m., the state patrol said.
The Kearney Red Cross offered assistance to passengers after their release from the hospital.
The bus was a brand new vehicle, in service for about two weeks, Ronan said. It has a capacity of 55 passengers, and each seat has a safety belt.
Buckling up in the bus is not mandatory, Ronan said, but an on-board safety presentation to start the trip recommends seat belt use.
Family and friends seeking information on bus passengers can call 800 992-4618, ext. 19.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com.
