Greyhound Bus Crash In New Mexico Kills 7, Dozens Injured

Seven people were killed and more than 40 injured in a crash in Gonzales, New Mexico, involving a semi-truck and a Greyhound bus travelling from St. Louis to Los Angeles on Thursday, police said.

The exact number of fatalities and injuries were not clear. "We do expect that number to rise," New Mexico State Police spokesman Ray Wilson said.

As per reports, at least 40 people were taken to hospitals nearby, and another six were treated at the scene. Forty nine people, including adults and children, were on board the bus at the time of the crash, Greyhound said in a statement. The driver of the truck did not suffer life-threatening injuries.

Preliminary information from the police reported the crash happened after the semi-truck’s tire blew out, which led to it changing lanes onto oncoming traffic. It ended up colliding with a Route 1333 Greyhound bus headed through New Mexico and Arizona.

The crash happened at around 1 p.m. local time (3 p.m. EDT) on westbound Interstate 40 near the city of Thoreau. Following the accident, the front-end of the bus suffered damages, while the trailer truck was on its side with all its cargo strewn across the scene. The lanes were closed and traffic was diverted away from the crash site by rescue officers.

CNN reported many passengers were trying to climb out of the window of the bus soon after the crash, while bystanders carrying ladders made their way through piles of debris sprawled across the site to help the former out.

National Transportation Safety Board announced they were launching a go-team to investigate the crash, for which ten investigators were already sent to the site.

"We are fully cooperating with local authorities and will also complete an investigation of our own," Greyhound spokeswoman Crystal Booker said, ABC-affiliated WPVI-TV reported.

"I saw the tractor trailer flipped upside down the driver of the tractor trailer was on the shoulder just sitting there. So I grabbed my medical kit and grabbed a bunch of my gloves and got out there and just started helping people and it was a pretty rough site," Christopher Jones, a former volunteer firefighter who reached the crash site after the accident, told ABC News.

"I was talking to the driver of the tractor trailer and when I flagged what happened and talked to the driver, he said his front drive tire popped on him and so it took him into the medium onto oncoming traffic right into the Greyhound upon impact, which I’m not too sure of the details. But I am guessing it was a head on collision," he continued.

The police asked family members seeking information about their kin aboard the bus to call (505) 722-4246. The reunification center for the passengers and their family was located at McKinley County Fire Administration Campus at 413 Bataan Veterans St.

"Our first priority is taking care of our passengers and their families as this incident has deeply impacted all involved," Greyhound said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone as we continue to give our support to all affected.

Police said the identification of the people who died due to the crash would not be released until their next of kin were notified.