Skip to main content
Tags: bus | crash | backpack | 100000

Bus Crash: $100,000 in Backpack Found, Sparking 2nd Investigation

Bus Crash: $100,000 in Backpack Found, Sparking 2nd Investigation

A passenger on a bus involved in a deadly crash was carrying a backpack filled with almost $100,000 in cash, authorities say. (Greg Sorber/The Albuquerque Journal via AP, File)

Friday, 20 July 2018 06:55 PM EDT

A passenger on a deadly bus crash was carrying a backpack containing nearly $100,000 cash Friday in New Mexico, sparking a second investigation.

Sandoval County Sheriff's Lt. Keith Elder confirmed during a news conference that the money was discovered after the passenger was transported to an Albuquerque hospital, where numerous other people and their belongings were taken following the crash, The Associated Press reported.

The discovery has prompted a separate investigation, Elder said. He had no other information about the passenger or the money.

The passenger was among close to 30 people who were injured when the bus rolled and was hit by another vehicle and then sideswiped by a semi-truck along Interstate 25 early Sunday. The bus driver lost control while trying to avoid another crash that happened moments earlier on the dark highway.

The three bus passengers who were killed were all women from Mexico who lived in Colorado.

Authorities said it took some time to identify the victims as none of the women had personal identification on them and the passengers' personal effects had been strewn throughout the bus and along the roadway.

Some of the names given by family members also did not match the names associated with the ticket purchases, Elder said.

Authorities said the identification process was further complicated since the bus company tracked only those passengers who boarded at various stops before the crash, not those who got off the bus.

The bus was headed from Denver to El Paso, Texas. Authorities said it also made stops in other Colorado and New Mexico cities.

The wreckage from the bus, semi-truck and other vehicles was scattered across both sides of the interstate, forcing the roadway's closure for several hours.

The Sandoval County Sheriff's Office also released video Friday from an officer's body camera that showed the frantic and chaotic crash scene. The footage shows several people, some holding small children, walking near the overturned bus in a daze.

First responders, speaking in English and Spanish, try to get the less critically injured to sit on the ground. Among them is a man holding a girl crying for her mother.

"That's OK. If she's crying, she's OK," a firefighter says.

State police investigators are working on reconstructing the accident scene as federal authorities are collecting data from the commercial vehicles involved.

Elder said the investigation could take several weeks.

Authorities on Friday released the name of the driver who rear-ended a pickup truck, triggering the five-vehicle chain reaction crash. That driver — Phuong Truong, 26, of Albuquerque — was ejected from the car after it was struck by the bus. Truong remains hospitalized.

It remains unclear what caused Truong to slam into the back of the pickup truck.

Elder said the case will be forwarded to the district attorney's office once the investigation is complete and it will be up to prosecutors to determine if any charges will be filed.

© Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


TheWire
A passenger on a deadly bus crash was carrying a backpack containing nearly $100,000 cash Friday in New Mexico, sparking a second investigation.
bus, crash, backpack, 100000
483
2018-55-20
Friday, 20 July 2018 06:55 PM
Newsmax Media, Inc.

Sign up for Newsmax’s Daily Newsletter

Receive breaking news and original analysis - sent right to your inbox.

(Optional for Local News)
Privacy: We never share your email address.
Join the Newsmax Community
Read and Post Comments
Please review Community Guidelines before posting a comment.
 

Interest-Based Advertising | Do not sell or share my personal information

Newsmax, Moneynews, Newsmax Health, and Independent. American. are registered trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc. Newsmax TV, and Newsmax World are trademarks of Newsmax Media, Inc.

NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Download the Newsmax App
NEWSMAX.COM
America's News Page
© 2025 Newsmax Media, Inc.
All Rights Reserved