2LT International News

LOS ANGELES, California: One person died and 32 others were hurt when a tour bus and an SUV crashed on a freeway near Los Angeles over the weekend, officials said.

The only person in the SUV died after the vehicle caught fire just after 5 a.m. in Hacienda Heights, about 20 miles east of downtown LA, according to the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

CHP Officer Zachary Salazar said two of the injured were in critical condition, while the others had moderate to minor injuries.

A passenger on the bus, Joe Runnel, told KTLA-TV that people were “begging for mercy” in the moments after the crash that closed two lanes of State Route 60 for several hours. “I was thrown from the back seat of the bus to the floor about three or four seats down,” Runnel said. “Glass was on me … there was a lot of hollering.”

Investigators believe the SUV broke down in a lane for unknown reasons, and the tour bus crashed into it from behind. The bus then swerved across the road and hit a guardrail. The front of the bus was severely damaged, and the windshield was shattered. The fire remained contained to the SUV and did not spread to the bus.

There were 63 people on the bus, including the driver. Another bus came to take 31 people away from the scene.

The tour bus was traveling from the Indio area near Palm Springs to Koreatown in Los Angeles. Earlier reports mistakenly said it was coming from Morongo.

The highway was reopened by late morning.