Posted at: 11/18/2009 3:51 PM
Updated at: 11/19/2009 4:17 PM
By: Kristin Martin

2 Killed in Bus Crash Identified

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The two people killed in a Minnesota charter bus crash are being identified as two women from the southeastern corner of the state.

Killed in the crash were Rhonda Hill, 52, of Plainview, Minn., and Pamela Holmquist, 56, of Kasson, Minn. The driver of the bus, Edwin Erickson, 52, of Elgin, Minn. is at Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

The injured passengers:

� Beverly Cooper, 78, Rochester

� Richard Cooper, 83, Rochester

� Prem Deep, 87, Rochester

� Russell Denzer, 57, Mohave Valley, Ariz.

� Helen Eubank, 80, Rochester

� Alice Greene, 72, Rochester

� Maurice Greene, 72, Rochester

� Betty Holmquist, 82, Kasson

� Earl Kesler, 73, Rochester

� Mary Kesler, 74, Rochester

� Adele Larson, 85, Rochester

� Leon Markham, 78, Mantorville

� Virginia Markham, 75, Mantorville

� Janice Murphy, 72, Rochester

� Betty Prigge, 77, Byron

� Joyce Sievert, 76, Kasson

� Ardell Swenson, 71, Austin

� Helen Wilde, 66, Byron

� James Wilde, 66, Byron

One person not injured in the crash was David Prigge, 76, of Byron

More Information

(ABC 6 NEWS) - Two people are dead and 21 injured after a charter bus ran off Interstate 90 near Austin and rolled into a ditch.

It happened just after three Wednesday afternoon, three miles west of Austin on Interstate 90 near mile marker 172. Officials pulled the bus out of the ditch just before ten o�clock last night.

Police and fire crews worked non-stop to pull 23, mostly elderly, people out of the bus, but they weren't the only ones who stopped to help.

"I haven't seen anything of this magnitude before," says a witness.

Just after 3 o�clock Wednesday afternoon, a strain charter bus carrying 22 passengers on the east bound lane of I-90 crossed over the center median and into the westbound lane narrowly missing another truck.

"The bus came out right in front of us and didn't miss us by a couple of feet. He shot right in front of us and just missed us,� witnesses tell ABC 6 News.

The bus hit the ditch and gouged out a chunk of earth before landing on its side in the ditch. The two men, whose truck was almost hit, ran in the bus through the broken windshield to aid the victims inside.

�It was all elderly people and they were pretty calm...no chaos,� says one witness.

While in the bus, they spoke with the driver who told them the bus was returning from a trip to Diamond Jo's Casino. Emergency personnel arrived on the scene and began to pull people from the emergency exits in the roof.

The state patrol is still investigating the cause of the accident and tonight they are saying it is truly tragic.

"I believe this is a truly tragic event...everyone on board was either injured or killed and all were returning from what was likely an enjoyable outing,� says Matt Langer of the Minnesota State Patrol.

Both lanes of I-90 are open once again. Officials say it will takes several weeks before an exact cause can be determined.

The bus driver was taken to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester. Six passengers are at Albert Lea Medical Center. 14 others are being treated at Austin Medical Center.

Authorities on the scene would not comment on the extent of the injuries. The names of the two deceased individuals and their hometowns have not been released.

(Information from staff reports and the Associated Press.)