Mexican Hat News

It may be the 21st century, but you don't have to venture into Utah's backcountry to travel on an unpaved road.

Front-line responders who performed emergency services at some of Utah's most tragic events in the last year were awarded Monday for their duty and in some cases, for saving multiple lives.

The tour bus sideswiped 28 feet of a guardrail before driving off a remote highway in southeastern Utah . via KCSG-TV Saint George

“It's been a long couple of days”

According to Linda Larson, emergency medical services coordinator for San Juan County, Utah, ambulances from at least seven different stations were involved in the rescue effort, including Kayenta, Red Mesa and ... via The Navajo Times

“It was scattered in the bushes, the washes, under rocks, buried in dirt.”

Reported by: Annie Cutler Last Update: 1/08 5:58 pm The Highway Patrol is working on finding a place - possibly in Grand Junction - to transfer the charter bus which was destroyed in the deadly bus crash Sunday ... via ABC 4

The crash happened just outside the remote town of Mexican Hat. Passengers say the bus hit a guard rail and fell down a 40 foot embankment. via KCSG-TV Saint George

The parent company of the bus that rolled in southern Utah, killing nine people and injuring more than 20 others, has announced more assistance to the victims and their families. via Deseret Morning News

“It looks like it could be operator error”

Back in Michigan, people who know Welland Lotan's apparently spotless driving record were surprised to learn he was the driver when a charter bus crashed in southeastern Utah, killing nine people returning from ... via Arizona Republic

A ski-tour bus crash Sunday night in remote southeast Utah went unreported for as many as 30 minutes before a second bus in the group from Phoenix came upon the wreckage, federal officials said Wednesday. via The Daily Sentinel

Federal investigators say a bus crash in southeastern Utah went unreported for as long as 30 minutes before a second bus carrying members of the same group discovered the wreckage.

Investigator Pete Kotowski with the National Transportation Safety Board says there was no cell phone service in the area near Mexican Hat, Utah, but someone on the second bus was somehow able to alert authorities.

It's not clear how that occurred.

Nine people died and 23 were hurt when the bus careened off a remote two-lane highway and rolled down an embankment. Read more

“Whether it's been damaged to prohibit us from getting any information is unknown”

Federal investigators are picking over the wreckage of a tour bus and trying to salvage a data recorder to determine why the vehicle tumbled off a remote highway, killing nine people, an official said today. via Denver Post Economy/Real Estate

Two suicide bombs have left at least six people dead and more than two dozen hurt in Baghdad. via WIVB-TV Buffalo

At least 11 deaths are now being blamed on the wet, snowy weather that swept through the western part of the U.S. over the weekend. via WCSH-TV Portland

Investigators found a data recorder and video equipment in the wreckage of a tour bus that may help them determine why it careered off a remote two-lane highway and rolled down an embankment, killing nine ... via Alabama Live

“I got up on one knee and could hear people screaming”

' Richard Scarborough was watching a movie on his laptop. The next moment, he felt the tour bus skid off a curve and roll over in southeastern Utah and heard the windows explode. via Rocky Mountain News

“The biggest challenge was just making sure we were taking care of . . . patients and not losing track of people because there was a large number of them”

San Juan Hospital in Monticello has 25 beds and usually sees about five patients sprinkled throughout a day. via Salt Lake Tribune

US & World Summary: Several Killed In Utah Bus Crash At least seven people are dead and nearly two dozen others have been hurt in a Utah bus crash. via TristateHomepage.com

A charter bus rolled off icy roads in far southeastern Utah, killing seven and injuring about 20 passengers.

About 80 passengers were on board the bus when it crashed Sunday about 10 miles north of Mexican Hat, in the Four Corners region where Utah meets Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. Rescue crews from all four states were deployed to aid the victims, The Salt Lake Tribune reported on its Web site.

The region's isolation and the winter weather slowed aid efforts Sunday. A helicopter from Colorado could not take off because of winter storms. Cell phone service was not available in the area, Utah Highway Patrol spokesman Cameron Roden said. Read more

WHAT: Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park WHERE: On the border of southeast Utah and northeast Arizona in the northern part of the Navajo Nation. via TheSpectrum.com

“You're not going to be able to buy land. You're not going to be able to have a yard and a little garden”

The past few years have been an academic roller-coaster ride for Mexican Hat Elementary School. via Salt Lake Tribune