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A Las Vegas-based tour bus heading to the Grand Canyon overturned in northwestern Arizona on Friday, killing one and seriously injuring two others, authorities said.
A spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said the cause of the Friday afternoon wreck was not yet known, but a fire official who responded said speed appeared to be a factor . No other vehicle was involved.
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“It was a heavily damaged bus. It slipped on the road quite a bit so there was a lot of wreckage, ”said Tim Bonney, Lake Mohave Ranchos fire district chief. “Just to put it in perspective, on a scale of zero to 10, an eight.”
None of the passengers were thrown from the vehicle but they were all in shock, Bonney said.
“Many of them said the bus driver was driving at a high speed,” he said.
A photo from the sheriff’s office showed the bus sideways on a road that winds through Joshua trees with no snow or rain in the remote area.
This photo provided by the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office shows a Las Vegas-based tour of northwestern Arizona on Friday, January 22, 2021. One person died and two were seriously injured. The cause of the reversal is under investigation. (Mohave County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
There were 48 people on the bus, including the driver, authorities said. After the crash, 44 people were sent to Kingman Regional Medical Center, two of whom were flown by medical helicopters, spokeswoman Teri Williams said. Everyone else was treated for minor injuries, she said.
Two people were seriously injured, Mohave County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Anita Mortensen said.
The bus was heading to Grand Canyon West, about 2.5 hours from Las Vegas and outside the boundaries of Grand Canyon National Park. The tourist destination is on the Hualapai Preserve and is best known for the Skywalk, a glass bridge that protrudes 21 meters from the canyon walls and offers visitors a view of the Colorado River at 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) in below.
Before the pandemic, about 1 million people a year visited Grand Canyon West, mostly through booked tours in Las Vegas. The Hualapai Preserve includes 108 miles (174 kilometers) of the western rim of the Grand Canyon.
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In addition to the Skywalk, the tribe organizes helicopter tours of their land, horseback riding, a historic guano mine, and a day trip whitewater rafting on the Colorado River. Rafters who are traveling through the Grand Canyon can also go up and down the river by reservation.
In a statement released Friday evening, the Hualapai Tribe and its businesses said they were saddened by the turnaround and that safety was the top priority for customers, employees and suppliers.
“As a people, our hearts go out to those who are so deeply affected,” the statement read. “We wish a speedy recovery to those in need of medical attention.”
National Transportation Safety Board spokesperson Keith Holloway said he did not immediately have more details about the crash. The agency does not send investigators into all bus accidents.
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Other fatal accidents have already occurred in the region.
Four Chinese nationals died in 2016 when their van collided with a Dallas Cowboys staff bus heading for a promotional preseason stop in Las Vegas.
In 2009, a tour bus carrying Chinese nationals overturned on US 93 near the Hoover Dam, killing several people and injuring others. The group was returning from a trip to the Grand Canyon.
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Federal investigators cited driver inattention as the likely cause of the crash. The bus driver was trying to sort out an airflow problem through his door before the accident and became distracted, then swerved from the road and over-corrected before crossing a median and overturning. Most of the passengers were ejected.
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