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A Greyhound bus headed to Phoenix crashed in Thoreau, N.M. along Interstate 40 on August 30, 2018
Courtesy of Alex Higgins

Four people were killed and multiple others injured Thursday afternoon when a Phoenix-bound Greyhound bus crashed with a semitruck on Interstate 40 in New Mexico, police said.

The New Mexico State Police said via Twitter that it appeared a tire blew out on an eastbound semitruck, causing it to veer into westbound traffic and crash into the bus, shortly before noon. The crash occurred near Thoreau, New Mexico, about halfway between Albuquerque and Gallup.

Video and photos from the scene posted to social media show significant damage to the front third of the bus.

Greyhound officials confirmed in a statement that the bus originated in St. Louis Wednesday morning, had stopped in Albuquerque and was heading to Phoenix.

Information about the bus posted on the company website said the bus had stops scheduled in Grants, New Mexico; Gallup; Holbrook; Flagstaff; Glendale and Phoenix, where it was scheduled to arrive at 4:25 p.m. 

An electronic schedule board at the main Phoenix greyhound station Thursday afternoon showed the bus’ arrival time still posted, though the arrival time was listed as a few minutes after 4:30 p.m.

The final scheduled destination was Los Angeles, where it was expected to arrive early Friday morning at 12:55 a.m. 

Greyhound spokeswoman Crystal Booker said the company is cooperating with the local authorities.

“Our first priority is taking care of our passengers and their families as this incident has deeply impacted all involved.” she said. “Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone as we continue to give our support to all affected.”

The crash closed of the westbound lanes of the interstate.

State police said passengers were transported to local hospitals, but they did not say how many people were injured.

Information on how many people were scheduled to get off the bus in Phoenix or Glendale was not immediately available.

National Transportation Safety Board said it would launch an investigation into the crash.

Check back with azcentral.com for updates.

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