Incident
On May 21, 1976, Yuba City High School chartered a school bus from Student Transportation Lines, Inc. to transport its '' a cappella'' choir fromVictims
Out of 52 passengers on board, twenty-eight students and an adult adviser were killed. All of the surviving passengers were injured, most critically. The driver survived the crash but was seriously hurt. # Larry R. Shearer, 14Blaylock, Bill. "Survivor: 28 Perished in Snap of a Finger." ''The Sacramento Bee'', May 23, 1976, pg 5. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112653146/yuba-city-highschool-bus-crash/ # Carrie Emmirch, 15 # Danielle Cote, 15"YCHS chois bus crash toll up to 29." ''The Gridley Herald''. May 26, 1976, pg 1. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112656061/yuba-city-bush-crash/ # Joanne A. Matson, 15 # Marla Azim, 15 # Bobby R. Ortega, 16 # Catherine R. Mudge, 16 # Kris Huston, 16 # Larry H. Rooney, 16 # Rachel Carlson, 16 # Ruth A. Bowen, 16"Another bus crash victim dies as town begins burying dead." ''The San Bernardino County Sun'', May 25, 1976, pg 16. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112654728/yuba-city-bus-crash/ # Carlene Engle 17 # Constance Adkins, 17 # Cynthia Graham, 17"Casualty List Told." ''The Times.'' May 22, 1976, pg 2. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112657510/yuba-city-bus-crash/ # Jim Frantz, 17 # Seth Rosebrough, 17 # Sharlene Engle, 17 # Steven Gust, 17 # Robert Randolph, 17 # Robert J. Stafford, 17 # Amy Hicks, 18 # Bonnie Barfield, 18 # Jodie L. McCoy, 18 # Lori Killingsworth, 18 # Marti A. Melani, 18 # Pamela S. Engstrom, 18 # Tom Brooks, 18 # Christina E. Cadena Estabrook, 25, wife of Dean Estabrook, who was driving his own vehicle in front of the bus when the disaster occurred. The crash claimed one additional victim. Daniel I. Wright, 15, died on May 24, 1976 at the Highland Hospital in Oakland, California due to the injuries he sustained in the crash.Investigation
The accident was investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board, which it attributed to the unfamiliarity and inexperience of the driver with the design of the 26-year-old bus and his confusion of oil pressure and air pressure warnings. Contributing to the accident were: # The failure of the air compressor drivebelt # The failure of the maintenance program and pre-trip inspection to detect and replace the deteriorated air compressor drivebelt # The failure of the signing system to adequately alert the driver to the critical geometrics of the ramp # The severe radius of the curvature of the ramp # The design of the curb as part of the ramp railing # A bridge rail system that did not redirect the bus. The upside of the accident is that the training and testing for school bus drivers has been improved, plus the design and construction of school buses has been improved. Additionally pre-trip and post-trip inspections and repairs are now more refined and more regulated.Memorials
The Yuba City bus disaster was the second-worst bus disaster in U.S. history, exceeded only by the 1963 train-bus collision in Chualar, California which claimed the lives of 32 Mexican farmworkers. In May 1996, on the twentieth anniversary of the accident, a memorial built near the water at the Martinez Marina was dedicated to the victims. Bearing the names of those who died, it was constructed by firefighters who had responded to the accident and their friends and largely funded by them and donations they obtained. On the 35th anniversary of the accident in May 2011, Contra Costa County firefighters dedicated a monument in Yuba City. In 2015, the I-680 freeway off-ramp was replaced with one having a longer and flatter approach.References
{{coord, 38.0244, N, 122.1110, W, source:wikidata, display=title Transportation disasters in California Bus incidents in the United States History of Contra Costa County, California 1976 road incidents 1976 in California May 1976 events in the United States