One dead, dozens injured in two unrelated tour bus crashes

Sunday, June 27, 1999 | 6:09 a.m.

An unrelated tour bus crash more than an hour later near the Mojave Desert town of Baker left a dozen people injured.

Shortly before 9 a.m., a Chevy Malibu traveling southbound on Interstate 5 veered into the bus' path, said Officer Gary Montanez, a CHP spokesman.

The bus smashed into the Chevy, leaving the unidentified driver with fatal injuries. He was rushed to Whittier Community Hospital and died a short time later, Montanez said. There were no other injuries in the collision in Buena Park, about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles.

Two other vehicles rear-ended the bus but suffered only minor damage.

"I was scared," said 13-year-old Lali Quezada, a passenger on the bus. "I saw the car hit the divider and the bus hit it and dragged it all the way to the other side."

Lali's mother, Rocio Puente, 38, of San Fernando, held a hand over her forehead as she complained of a headache. The mother and daughter had been on their way to Mexico for a weeklong vacation.

The collision left both sides of the four-door Malibu smashed in and its windshield cracked. The only visible damage to the bus occurred to its front bumper, which was dented.

The bus' passengers later boarded a new replacement and resumed their trip.

Meanwhile, about 150 miles northeast of Los Angeles near the town of Baker, a tour bus carrying 37 passengers overturned on Interstate 15. Twelve people were taken to hospitals, including two with moderate injuries, CHP Officer Willie Hailey said.

About 10:20 a.m., driver Louis Auther Jackson, 59, of Lynwood lost control of his bus, which crashed into the center divider and flipped over, Hailey said.

The bus was returning to Los Angeles from Las Vegas.