 Tow truck operators work tour on bus that careened off a mountain highway and plunged down a snow-covered slope, killing nine passengers and injuring at least 27 others, in Oregon on December 31, 2012. (REUTERS/Steve Dipaola)
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VANCOUVER — A teenage exchange student was among nine B.C. residents who arrived back in Canada Wednesday, following an Oregon tour bus crash last weekend that left nine dead and dozens injured.
South Korean Tae-Woo Park, whose parents live in Asia, told QMI Agency he’s looking forward to getting back to Vancouver.
Chris Huxoll, manager of Legacy Ford Lincoln in Oregon, said the dealership staff co-ordinated with the American Red Cross, which had been providing temporary lodging for survivors, to bring them home.
“We’re going to use our vehicles and we’re going to be paying the drivers and paying for fuel, lodging and food,” he said. “These people don’t need to be back on a bus after being through something so traumatic.”
Park was sleeping on the bus, operated by Vancouver-based Mi Joo Tour and Travel, when it crashed and rolled down a steep slope east of Pendleton.
“It was like hell,” the 16-year-old said. “I was sleeping at the time (and) the bus rolled over the hill suddenly.”
On Wednesday, a short statement was posted on the doors of the tour company’s Vancouver office.
“On behalf of Mi Joo Tour, we share in the tremendous grief experienced by all of the survivors and families of the people involved in this terrible tragedy,” lawyer Mark Scheer wrote. “We are focused on assisting and supporting the survivors and families.”
Four patients remained at Pendleton’s St. Anthony Hospital Wednesday morning.
Three others are being driven to the Seattle area.
