2 dead in Minnesota tour bus crash

AUSTIN, Minn., Nov. 18 (UPI) -- A tour bus rolled over on an interstate in southern Minnesota Wednesday afternoon, killing at least two people, police said.

KMSP-TV, Minneapolis, reported the Minnesota State Patrol confirmed the deaths. There were 23 people on board the Strain Bus Line Motorcoach Tours bus when the accident occurred on the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 near Austin, the TV station said.

The bus driver was critically injured and was taken to a Rochester hospital, KMSP said. Fourteen people were transported to Austin Medical Center and six others were taken to Naeve Hospital in Albert Lea.

Traffic was closed in both directions of the highway, causing significant backups.

The bus was on a weekly casino run that picks up passengers in Rochester, Byron, Kasson and Blooming Prairie. It was returning from Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa.

The Austin Daily Herald reported the accident occurred about 4 miles west of Austin at 3:22 p.m.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said the bus company had not had a fatal accident in the past two years. The agency said the company had a higher-than-average number of buses taken out of service after inspections -- 60 percent compared with 22.27 percent nationwide.

Five years ago, the agency ordered Strain to cease operating because of safety concerns, KMSP said.