Bus With Chinese-Speaking Tourists Crashes in Utah; 4 Killed

The Associated Press
By The Associated Press
September 20, 2019US News
share
Bus With Chinese-Speaking Tourists Crashes in Utah; 4 Killed
This photo released by the Garfield County Sheriff's Office shows a tour bus that was carrying Chinese-speaking tourists after it crashed near Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah, killing at least four people and critically injuring up to 15 others, on Sept. 20, 2019. (Sheriff Danny Perkins/Garfield County Sheriff's Office via AP)

SALT LAKE CITY—A bus carrying Chinese-speaking tourists crashed as it headed to a national park in southern Utah, killing four people and critically injuring up to 15 others, authorities said on Friday, Sept. 20.

The morning wreck near Bryce Canyon National Park, known for its distinctive landscape of narrow red rock spires, left 12 to 15 people with critical injuries and 10 more with minor to serious injuries, the Utah Highway Patrol tweeted.

The tour bus with 30 people aboard crashed near a highway rest stop about 7 miles from the park entrance. It’s not yet clear what caused the wreck.

Photos show the top of a white bus smashed in and one side peeling away as the vehicle rests mostly off the side of a road near a sign for restrooms. Authorities were tending to people on the road, and others stood around covered in shiny blankets, the photos show.

utah tour bus crash medium
This photo released by the Utah Highway Patrol shows a tour bus carrying Chinese-speaking tourists after it crashed near Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah, killing at least four people and critically injuring up to 15 others, on Sept. 20, 2019. (Utah Highway Patrol via AP)
tour bus crash officials tending
In this photo released by the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office, Emergency Medical Services personnel assist victims of a bus crash near Bryce Canyon National Park in southern Utah, on Sept. 20, 2019. (Sheriff Danny Perkins/Garfield County Sheriff’s Office via AP)

Highway Patrol Cpl. Chris Bishop said injured victims were sent to three hospitals. One of them, Intermountain Garfield Memorial Hospital, said it received 17 patients.

A spokesman for the small hospital in the tiny town of Panguitch tweeted that three people were in critical condition, 11 in serious condition and three in fair condition. Lance Madigan says Intermountain has sent two helicopters and two planes to help transport victims.

Patients also were being taken to Cedar City and St. George, Bishop said.

Bryce Canyon has the world’s largest concentration of irregular columns of rock, called hoodoos, according to the National Park Service website. The park, about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, draws more than 2 million visitors a year.

By Lindsay Whitehurst and Morgan Smith

ntd newsletter icon
Sign up for NTD Daily
What you need to know, summarized in one email.
Stay informed with accurate news you can trust.
By registering for the newsletter, you agree to the Privacy Policy.
Comments