A Las Vegas-based tour bus bound for the Grand Canyon overturned in northwest Arizona on Friday, killing one person and seriously injuring two others, officials said.
A spokeswoman for the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office said the cause of the Friday afternoon wreck was not yet known, but a fireman who responded said speed seemed to be a factor. No other vehicles were involved.
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“It was a badly damaged bus. It slipped a lot on the road, so there was a lot of debris,” said Lake Mohave Ranchos fire district chief Tim Bonney. “Just to put in perspective, on a scale from zero to 10, an eight.”
None of the passengers were ejected from the vehicle, but they were all in shock, Bonney said.
“Many of them were saying that the bus driver was driving at high speed,” he said.
A photo of the sheriff’s office showed the bus overturned on a road that curves 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 that took place in northwest Arizona on Friday, January 22, 2021. One person died and two were seriously injured. The cause of the rollover is under investigation. (Mohave County Sheriff’s Office via AP)
There were 48 people on the bus, including the driver, officials said. After the accident, 44 people were sent to the Kingman Regional Medical Center, including two transported by medical helicopter, said spokeswoman Teri Williams. All others were treated for minor injuries, she said.
Two people were seriously injured, said Mohave County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Anita Mortensen.
The bus was going to the Grand Canyon West, about 2.5 hours from Las Vegas and outside the boundaries of the Grand Canyon National Park. The tourist destination is in the Hualapai reserve and is best known for the Skywalk, a glass bridge that projects 70 feet (21 meters) from the canyon walls and offers visitors a view of the Colorado River 4,000 feet (1,219 meters) below.
Before the pandemic, about 1 million people a year visited the Grand Canyon West, mainly through tours scheduled outside Las Vegas. The Hualapai reserve includes 108 miles (174 kilometers) from the western rim of the Grand Canyon.
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In addition to the Skywalk, the tribe offers helicopter tours of their lands, horseback riding, a historic guano mine and a day trip on the Colorado River rafting. Rafters who are traveling through the Grand Canyon can also enter and exit the river in the reserve.
In a statement released on Friday, the Hualapai Tribe and its businesses said they were saddened by the rollover and that safety is the top priority for guests, employees and vendors.
“As a people, our hearts are with those so deeply affected,” says the statement. “We want quick recoveries for those who require medical attention.”
National Transportation Safety Board spokesman Keith Holloway said he did not immediately have more details about the accident. The agency does not send investigators for all bus accidents.
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Other fatal accidents have happened in the area before.
Four Chinese died in 2016 when their van collided with a Dallas Cowboys bus headed to a pre-season promotional stop in Las Vegas.
In 2009, a tour bus carrying Chinese citizens overturned US 93 near 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 the driver’s inattention as the likely cause of the accident. The bus driver was trying to fix a problem with the airflow through the door before the accident and was distracted, so he got off the road and corrected too much before crossing a central construction site and flipping over. Most of the passengers were ejected.