Driver cited after tour bus crash
GREYBULL, Wyo. — The driver of a tour bus that overturned on a slushy mountain highway, injuring about 20 foreign tourists, was cited for traveling too fast for conditions, the Wyoming Highway Patrol said Tuesday.
“This is probably the only citation that will be issued unless they find something equipment-wise,” patrol Sgt. Stephen Townsend said.
The driver was identified as Terry Pleasant, 48, of Phoenix, Ariz. He was not injured.
Nine passengers remained hospitalized Tuesday, a day after the crash in an early season snowstorm.
The accident happened around 1:20 p.m. Monday on U.S. 14 near Granite Pass, about 11 miles south of Burgess Junction in the Big Horn Mountains in north-central Wyoming.
The American Tours International bus, which was on a 14-day trip that began in Denver and was to end in Los Angeles, was westbound when the driver lost control on a right-hand curve on a downgrade, Townsend said.
The 42 passengers were Dutch and spoke little English.
Two passengers, Gan Hensels, 54, and Margareta Leps, 50, were airlifted to Billings, Mont., from Worland, Townsend said. He did not know their conditions.
William Stout, 87, was hospitalized in Powell, while six others — Godelieve Delaet, 47; Delmi Campbell, 57; Christiane Distelmens, 56; Frederick Leps, 54; Joseph Corten, 59; and Simone Goovaerts, 68 — remained hospitalized in Worland.
The bus was headed to Cody, east of Yellowstone National Park, after starting the day in Sheridan.
It took a few hours for some of the injured to be extracted, according to Townsend. The less-injured were treated and released at clinics in Powell, Lovell and Basin where they were treated and released.
A half-inch of slush covered the road at the time of the accident. Officials closed the highway around 5 p.m. between Greybull, about 40 miles to the southeast, and Burgess Junction; 8 inches of snow accumulated in the area by evening. The road reopened at 9 p.m. Monday.
Some uninjured passengers were put on a Greybull school bus, which also ended up sliding off the icy road, Townsend said. No one was hurt in the second accident.
American Tours International is based in Mesa, Ariz. It was unclear what the company would do for the passengers or if the trip will continue, Townsend said.