SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO
Charter bus flips, crashes near Lordsburg
30 passengers evacuated, a dozen injured
Published
Modified
Thirty people were evacuated from a passenger bus that flipped on a highway east of Lordsburg early Friday morning.
Hidalgo County Fire Rescue stated in a 6:25 a.m. news release that an MCI charter coach rolled over on the westbound side of Interstate 10 around mile marker 34. It subsequently reported that 30 passengers were rescued from the vehicle. While there were no fatalities on scene, two patients were airlifted and approximately 12 transported to a nearby hospital, based on statements from the county.
County Manager Tisha Green and personnel from the Hidalgo County Detention Center, located nearby, assisted in transporting passengers from the scene, the agency said.
Green told the Journal that 16 passengers who were not taken to the hospital were sheltering at the county offices to rest and wait for alternative transportation. 鈥淚 contacted detention and asked for two officers to get the shuttle to pick up the passengers and bring them to our conference room for shelter, food, restrooms,鈥� she said shortly after noon Friday.
The bus was en route from Ciudad Ju谩rez to Phoenix, Ariz., Green said.
The crash closed the right-hand lane of the highway for about two hours, with the state Department of Transportation reopening the lane at about 8:20 a.m., according to a DOT spokesperson.
The condition of the passengers taken to hospitals was unknown. New Mexico State Police said it assisted with the emergency response and referred questions about the investigation back to the county.
Algernon 顿鈥橝尘尘补蝉蝉补 is the Journal鈥檚 southern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at adammassa@abqjournal.com.
