Irving Bus Crash Leaves Two Dead, Dozens Injured [Video]

Authorities say two people were killed and dozens more were injured on Thursday when a charter bus crashed and rolled over on the George Bush Turnpike in Irving, Texas.

According to CNN, the Cardinal Coach Line bus carrying 40 passengers was headed to Choctaw Casino Resort on state Highway 161 when witnesses say it blew a tire and was thrown off balance.

Police reports say the vehicle then traveled off the turnpike shoulder, hit a barrier, went back across the roadway into a grassy median and struck a concrete divider before flipping over and sliding some distance on its right side.

The crash occurred about 9:30 am local time.

NBCDFW reports trapped passengers were forced to use emergency hatches on the roof and push out the windows on the left side of the bus to either escape or await rescue by passers by and emergency crews.

“People were screaming, on top of each other,” Dan Risik, who identified himself as a passenger on the bus, told reporters. “I was on top of a friend of mine, and a woman was on top of me on my leg. I couldn’t move up, or what have you, until help arrived and they climbed through the windows.”

Fifteen victims were taken by air ambulance to a nearby hospital in Dallas. Others were transported to area hospitals by ground ambulance or by DART buses that arrived to offer assistance.

Following the accident, traffic in both directions along the Texas toll road was shut down.

The crash is under investigation and multiple departments, including the Texas Department of Public Safety, are at the scene.

Here is a live stream of the crash site:

The National Traffic Safety Board announced they are also sending a team of regional investigators to the scene of the accident.

More on the Irving, Texas bus crash in the videos below: