Tragedy on Los Angeles Freeway as Bus Slams Into SUV Killing One and Injuring Dozens

An early morning freeway turned into a scene of devastation when a tour bus carrying dozens of passengers collided with an SUV in the Los Angeles suburb of Hacienda Heights, leaving one person dead and 32 others injured.

The crash happened just after 5 a.m. on Sunday along State Route 60, roughly 20 miles east of downtown LA. According to authorities, the SUV—carrying only the driver—was disabled in a travel lane when the speeding tour bus slammed into it from behind. The SUV erupted in flames on impact, claiming the life of its lone occupant in the fire.

The force of the collision sent the bus careening across lanes, eventually slamming into a guardrail on the side of the freeway. The front of the bus was heavily damaged, its windshield shattered and frame bent. Remarkably, the bus itself did not catch fire, though chaos quickly unfolded inside.

Among the passengers was Joe Runnel, who recalled the terrifying aftermath. “I was thrown from the back seat to the floor about three or four rows forward,” he said. “There was glass everywhere… people were screaming, begging for help.”

Emergency crews rushed to the scene, transporting 32 people to nearby hospitals. Two were listed in critical condition, while the rest suffered moderate to minor injuries. Of the 63 people aboard the bus, including the driver, 31 were able to walk away and continue their journey on a separate vehicle arranged at the scene.

The bus was reportedly en route from the Morongo area near Palm Springs to Koreatown in Los Angeles when the crash occurred.

By late morning, all lanes of the highway had reopened, but the emotional scars of that harrowing morning will linger much longer. Investigators are still working to determine why the SUV became disabled, leading to a collision that turned a routine trip into a tragedy.