A Greyhound bus traveling from Utah to Nevada carrying the driver and 13 passengers careened off Interstate 70 and plunged into a deep wash killing a 13-year old girl from California and injuring all 12 other passengers on New Year’s Eve, Sunday night. The incident occurred shortly after 11:00 p.m. along Interstate 70 west of the city of Green River in Emery County, Utah. Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash but according to passengers they report a possible medical issue with the bus driver. According to Utah Highway Patrol’s news release, the Greyhound was traveling westbound across the Utah desert from Denver to Las Vegas.

Sometime after 11:00 p.m. the Greyhound veered off the highway and plunged into a wash and crashed about 200 feet into an embankment at mile post 113. The bus had just made a stop for a driver shift change before the deadly crash. Passengers climbed out of the windows to escape after the front of the vehicle smashed into the ground. 4 passengers and the driver were stuck in the vehicle in the moments after the collision. A passenger actually climbed out of the bus and came up to the highway to flag down a truck driver and called in the accident to authorities.

The driver and 2 people, including the 13-year old girl, suffered severe injuries and had to be airlifted to nearby hospitals. The other victims were split between hospitals in Grand Junction, Colorado and Utah Valley Regional Hospital in Provo, Utah. All other passengers except one suffered various injuries and were transported by ground ambulance to hospitals in Price and Richfield, Utah. Authorities identified the girl killed as Summer Pinzon from Azusa, California. She was traveling with her mother, who was taken to a hospital after the crash.

Utah Highway Patrol Trooper Jared Cornia noted that the roads were clear and conditions were good and weren't believed to have been a factor in the crash. He said investigators were trying to obtain video from a camera aboard the bus to help determine what happened. Lanesha Gipson, a spokeswoman for Greyhound, said the company is cooperating with authorities and conducting its own investigation. Gipson didn't have information about the driver.

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