Dozens of Southern California high school students were en route to Humboldt State University to tour the Arcata campus Thursday when a FedEx tractor-trailer crossed a median and slammed into their bus on Interstate 5, causing a deadly, fiery crash about 5:30 p.m. near the small Northern California city of Orland.
At least 10 people — including the FedEx truck driver, the tour bus driver, three adult chaperones and five students — died. A student who survived the crash documented its immediate aftermath and his trip to the hospital on Twitter as friends and family members exchanged grateful messages with him.
That student, Jonathan Gutierrez, one of two from Banning High School in Wilmington, told NBC4 the impact was sudden, extremely painful and immediately ignited a fire and that passengers smashed open windows to escape.