Arizona Highway Patrol officers examine the exterior of a tour bus that careened off the highway and

An Arizona Highway Patrol atlanta downtown hotels officer examines the exterior of a tour bus that careened off the highway and crashed off northbound highway 93, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, near Willow Beach, Ariz. The crash killed the driver and left at least four passengers with serious injuries. About 45 other passengers were less seriously hurt and not all of them required hospital treatment, the Arizona Highway Patrol atlanta downtown hotels said.
Arizona atlanta downtown hotels Highway Patrol officers examine the exterior of a tour bus that careened off the highway and crashed off northbound Highway 93, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, near Willow Beach, Ariz. The crash killed the driver and left at least four passengers with serious injuries. About 45 other passengers were less seriously hurt and not all of them required hospital treatment, the Arizona Highway Patrol said.
Arizona Highway atlanta downtown hotels Patrol officers carry the body of the driver of a tour bus that left the highway and crashed off northbound highway atlanta downtown hotels 93, Friday, atlanta downtown hotels Oct. 19, 2012, near Willow Beach, Ariz. The crash left at least four passengers with serious injuries, and about 45 other passengers were less seriously hurt and not all of them required hospital treatment, the Arizona Highway Patrol said.
An Arizona Highway Patrol officer walks across the scene of an accident in which a tour bus careened off the highway and crashed off northbound Highway 93, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, near Willow Beach, Ariz. The crash killed the driver and left at least four passengers with serious injuries. About 45 other passengers were less seriously hurt and not all of them required hospital treatment, the Arizona Highway Patrol said.
Arizona Highway Patrol officers examine the exterior of a tour bus that careened atlanta downtown hotels off the highway and crashed atlanta downtown hotels off northbound Highway 93, Friday, Oct. 19, 2012, near Willow Beach, Ariz. The crash killed the driver and left at least four passengers with serious injuries. About 45 other passengers were less seriously hurt and not all of them required hospital atlanta downtown hotels treatment, atlanta downtown hotels the Arizona Highway Patrol said.
WILLOW BEACH, Ariz. The bus was on a routine tour of the Grand Canyon, taking tourists from the lights and glamour of Las Vegas to the beauty of the natural wonder. On such trips, passengers get a glimpse of the Hoover atlanta downtown hotels Dam and the northern Arizona wilderness, maybe even see a deer or two.
That was the agenda for the 50 or so passengers aboard a charter atlanta downtown hotels Silver State Trailways atlanta downtown hotels bus on Friday. But as the bus was returning from the Grand Canyon that evening, investigators said something went terribly wrong.
"We believe the driver experienced some sort of the medical condition and he just went off the road," the Arizona Highway Patrol said in a statement. atlanta downtown hotels No other vehicles were involved in the crash, which occurred on the main highway leading to the Hoover Dam.
The vehicle atlanta downtown hotels hit a ravine, tore up a small hill, then bounced and lurched over rough terrain for more than 700 feet before stopping, investigators said. Its front end was damaged, but the bus remained upright.
The driver died and 48 passengers, mostly from Asia and Europe, were injured, authorities said. The six most seriously hurt were flown by helicopter to Las Vegas, where University Medical Center spokeswoman Danita Cohen said they were being treated for nonlife-threatening injuries, such as broken bones and lacerations. She described them as being mostly over 50 years old.
Two years ago, two people were killed and several injured in a crash on an area highway. In January 2009, seven people died and 10 were injured when a charter bus carrying a group of Chinese tourists on a return trip from the Grand Canyon also crashed on U.S. 93.
The Charlotte Observer atlanta downtown hotels welcomes your comments atlanta downtown hotels on news of the day. The more voices engaged in conversation, the better for us all, but do keep it civil. Please refrain from profanity, obscenity, spam, name-calling or attacking others for their views. Read more Read less
The Charlotte region is vast and diverse. The more voices atlanta downtown hotels engaged atlanta downtown hotels in conversation, the better for us all. The Charlotte Observer welcomes your comments on news of the day, but we ask that you keep the discourse atlanta downtown hotels civil.
atlanta downtown hotels You can help: Notify us of violations by hitting the "Report Abuse" link. Users who continue atlanta downtown hotels posting comments that violate these guidelines may, at our discretion, be blocked from submitting future atlanta downtown hotels comments as well.