Posted at: 11/19/2009 6:54 PM
By: Dan Conradt

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Survivor Talks About Bus Crash

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- It was just over 24 hours ago we first brought you word that a charter bus had overturned just-off I-90 on the west edge of Austin.

It was a crash that killed two people, and injured more than 20 others.

Ardell Swenson's day didn't turn out the way she'd planned

"I went because I wanted a day of relaxation.  I had a nice meal. The rest of it is debatable,” says Swenson.

On Wednesday morning, 71-year-old Ardell Swenson boarded a bus along with 21 other riders to spend the day at the Diamond Jo Casino near Northwood.

On the way back home she dozed-off while reading a magazine, and just outside of Austin, something woke her up.

"I thought we were going to pass somebody. Then we went into the median and across the other two lanes and I don't remember anything after that," she recalls.

As the bus tipped onto it's side, Ardell Swenson banged her head and went unconscious. When she came to, the bus was on its side.

"I don't remember any noise. I think there was a lot of concern, but then the emergency people took over.  There were red, white and blue lights as far as you could see in every direction.  When we tipped we ended up in a ditch that had water in it, so you were wet, I was wet and muddy," she says.  “I think I was one of the first people out of the bus. They told me to go sit on this rug or this mat and I did.

There was a quick examination at the scene, then an ambulance ride to Austin medical center.

"This nice young gentleman asked me if I thought I could sit in the front seat because I think there was two in the back," she tells us.

And after several hours in the emergency room, Ardell Swenson was released and allowed to return home at about 7 o'clock Wednesday night.

"I’m basically just bruised, a few scrapes and that kind of thing, but I have this wonderful black eye," she says.

And since returning home, her phone has been ringing off the hook.

"That’s wonderful to know you have that many Friends out there and people who are concerned about you,” she says.

And even though she didn't break-the-bank at the casino.  She knows she walked away a winner.

"Because I’m walking and talking. I'm here to talk to you. Yes, I’m a winner there," Swenson says.