Last Updated on January 18, 2023 by C-CAR
NEEDLES >> A tour bus traveling from Laughlin, Nevada, to Ventura caught fire here Sunday afternoon, forcing all 52 passengers to evacuate.
The bus driver said he heard what sounded like a rear tire exploding and pulled the bus to the side of the road about 1 p.m., according to Dean Dickover, a San Bernardino County Fire Department spokesman.
The bus immediately caught fire and smoke filtered through the cabin.
Everyone escaped, however, one man became short of breath, Dickover said. Paramedics tended to him, and he declined a ride to a hospital. Three others suffered heat exhaustion and were treated by paramedics at the scene, near Needles Highway and the 40 Freeway.
Passengers were able to save most of their luggage before the bus became engulfed in flames.
The Fire Department said the $250,000 bus, belonging to a San Luis Obispo company, was just about a total loss.
Fire and Sheriff’s Department employees took the passengers to a storage lot and then to a restaurant while they waited an hour or so for a replacement bus to arrive from Las Vegas to take them home.
