Bus Carrying Square-Dancers Crashes in San Diego; 2 Hurt
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A tour bus carrying about 30 mentally disabled square-dancers and their parents from Orange County crashed in downtown San Diego on Saturday when the driver suffered a heart attack.
The driver, who was not identified, and one parent were critically injured.
Gordon Blackburn of Anaheim, who was on the bus, said his wife, Julie, was hurt when her throat hit the seat in front of her, causing her windpipe to swell and making it difficult to breathe. She was listed in critical condition late Saturday at UCSD Medical Center.
Blackburn said the bus left Buena Park about 7 a.m. carrying the Sunshine Twirlers to a statewide square-dancing convention at the San Diego Convention Center. The accident occurred about 9:30 a.m. at Broadway and Front Street.
The driver was making a left-hand turn when he collapsed at the steering wheel, Blackburn said. The bus continued turning and hit a light pole in the median.
Several people were treated at local hospitals and released, according to the San Diego Fire Department.
The bus company, Good Times Travel, sent a replacement bus to the scene, and most of the dancers--men and women in their 20s, 30s and 40s--continued on to the convention, Blackburn said.
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