10 killed in fiery crash


Associated Press

ORLAND, Calif.

It was a busload of opportunity: young, low-income, motivated students, destined to become the first in their families to go to college, journeying from the concrete sprawl of Los Angeles to a remote redwood campus 650 miles north.

Those dreams shattered for some Thursday in an explosive freeway collision that left 10 dead — students, chaperones and both drivers — and dozens hospitalized.

Desperate families awaited word about loved ones Friday, while investigators tried to figure out why a southbound FedEx big rig swerved across the grassy divide of California’s key artery before sideswiping a car and slamming into the tour bus, which burst into a furious blaze.

The bus was among three Humboldt State University had chartered as part of its two-day Preview Plus program to bring prospective students to tour the Arcata campus, according to university officials.

Most survivors were injured, some with critical burns or broken limbs.

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