Palmdale woman one of 13 killed in bus crash

PALM SPRINGS – A 57-year-old Palmdale woman died Sunday morning when a tour bus smashed into the back of a truck on Interstate 10 north of Palm Springs, authorities said.

Concepcion Corvera was one of 13 people killed in the crash, which happened around 5:15 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23, on westbound Interstate 10 west of Indian Canyon Road in Desert Hot Springs. [View video and images from the crash scene here.]

A semi-truck with trailer was traveling at approximately five miles per hour, due to slow traffic, when the tour bus collided with the trailer from behind, according to the CHP.

The tour bus was owned by a Los Angeles company — USA Holiday — and the driver of the bus was killed, but not yet identified.

Bus passengers who died in the crash were identified Monday as:

— Conception Corvera, 57, of Palmdale;

— Yolanda Mendoza, 69, of Los Angeles;

— Isabel Jimenez Hernandez, 66, of Los Angeles;

— Rosa Ruiz, 53, of Los Angeles;

— Gustavo Green, 62, of Los Angeles;

— Zoila Aguilera, 72, of Los Angeles;

— Milagros Gonzales, 72, of Los Angeles;

— Aracely Tije, 63, of Los Angeles;

— Dora Galvez de Rodriguez, 69, of Los Angeles;

— Elvia Sanchez, 52, of Los Angeles; and

— Ana Gomes de Magalion, 71, of Los Angeles.

One male victim remained unidentified as of late Monday morning.

The bus had taken gamblers on a junket to the Red Earth Casino, at Salton City, about 25 miles south of Indio. It was returning them to the Los Angeles area, but the exact location was not immediately released.

Forty-four passengers were aboard the bus, which had been inspected as late as last April and had shown no defects, according to the CHP Border Division commander, Chief Jim Abele.

Five critically-injured passengers were taken to the nearest trauma center, at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, six miles south of the wreck.

Between 30-31 people were taken by fleets of ambulances to three hospitals across the Coachella Valley, the CHP and hospitals said.

View video of CHP officials discussing the fatal bus crash here.

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