11/11/2025
11.10.2025 | 6:55 PM | SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS — A bus carrying members of a Santa Ana church overturned Sunday night, Nov. 9, as it traveled down Highway 330 near Running Springs, leaving 20 passengers hospitalized, authorities said.
The group — children, families and staff from Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church — was returning home from a three-day youth retreat at Camp Nawakwa when the crash occurred around 8:50 p.m.
Despite the frightening scene, Father José Felix said there were no life-threatening injuries.
“All of the passengers are more or less OK,” Felix said Monday at the church. “Six girls had injuries — some with broken fingers or hands, one with a broken leg, and another with bleeding from the head.”
The bus was one of several vehicles transporting about 125 parishioners back to Santa Ana following the annual “growing-up retreat,” a rite of passage for girls ages 14 to 22, organized by the church’s youth ministry.
California Highway Patrol officials said the bus was headed downhill when it struck a rocky embankment on a curve near Smiley Park and overturned onto its side. The San Bernardino County Fire Department reported that 35 people were on board. Some passengers managed to escape through the roof hatch before firefighters arrived.
In all, 26 people were evaluated at the scene, and 20 were taken to hospitals. Thirteen patients were treated at Loma Linda University Medical Center, with 10 released and three remaining in fair condition. Seven others were taken to a different hospital.
Officer Devin Julien with CHP said the ages of those hospitalized ranged from 13 to 25, with injuries described as mild to moderate.
“When we got the call, you think of the worst,” Julien said. “But thankfully, no fatalities.”
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Investigators said the driver did not appear to be impaired and are reviewing the bus’s maintenance records and the driver’s credentials. Roads were dry and winds were calm at the time of the crash.
Passengers recalled moments of confusion and fear.
“I hit my head, but I’m fine now,” said Cynthia Ramirez, 21, who was treated and released from Bear Valley Hospital. “It was a one-in-a-million accident.”
Youth leader Prisilla Mendoza, 20, said she focused on helping others. “I didn’t pay attention to my surroundings; I was just trying to help the girls,” she said.
Multiple agencies, including San Bernardino County Fire, Cal Fire, American Medical Response, and area fire departments, responded to the scene. Fire officials said the first patients were on their way to hospitals within 15 minutes of triage beginning.
The Diocese of Orange thanked emergency responders for their swift action.
“We extend our deepest gratitude to the first-responder agencies for their prompt and professional response,” the diocese said in a statement.
Father Felix said the parish has held its annual retreat at the same mountain camp since the youth group was founded four years ago.
📸: OnScene.TV
