HANCOCK COUNTY, Mississippi — The limo bus that crashed on I-10 eastbound near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line Friday afternoon was headed from New Orleans to Harrah's Casino in Biloxi, officials with the casino confirmed.
The crash happened in the eastbound lane of I-10 just before Mississippi 607, near Waveland, closing all lanes eastbound around 1:30 p.m.
By 6:30 p.m., both lanes were re-opened, however traffic was still moving slow.
According to Hancock County Chief Deputy Jeremy Skinner, the bus was traveling from a casino in New Orleans to a casino in Biloxi. The sheriff said the bus ran off the interstate, hit a sign and then a tree.
On Friday evening, Harrah's Gulf Coast officials said they were working with police to help the investigation.
“Right now our thoughts are with those that were injured in the accident, and we are working with law enforcement to aid in their investigation in any way possible,” casino officials said in a statement.
According to Skinner, the driver had a possible blackout related to a medical condition. A total of 26 passengers were in the bus at the time of the crash.
Two of those passengers were taken to New Orleans for treatment via medical helicopter.
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The rest were taken by ambulance to area hospitals with injuries ranging from cuts and bruises to contusions, broken limbs, and head trauma.
The bus is run by a company called Golden Gulf Limousines, out of Biloxi Mississippi.
According to federal records and the company’s own website, it employs six drivers. The company has a satisfactory safety record with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.
Records show the bus in today’s crash was inspected back in November and showed one violation that described as having “no or defective bus emergency exits.” That violation is not considered to be critical.
Stay with Eyewitness News on WWL-TV and WWLTV.com for more on this developing story.