By Cheri Mossburg
(CNN) — A charter bus overturned on an interstate highway in Los Angeles County on Thursday morning, injuring at least 23 people and bringing traffic to a temporary halt, officials said.
The crash happened on eastbound Interstate 210 near the city of Duarte and Interstate 605, nearly 20 miles northeast of downtown Los Angeles. By early afternoon, one eastbound lane of I-210 was open.
Medical helicopters landed on the highway to transport victims, and numerous emergency personnel were tending to people at the side of the highway, video from CNN affiliate KCAL showed.
The bus was on its side off of the highway. At least three lanes of eastbound 210 were closed because of the crash, California Highway Patrol Officer Ed Jacobs said.
At least 23 patients had been taken to area hospitals. Pasadena’s Huntington Hospital had three patients, including an 86-year-old man with chest injuries and rib fractures, hospital spokesman Kevin Andrus said.
Three hospitals in the Citrus Valley Health Partners system had a total of 20 patients, all of whom were listed in mild to moderate conditions, spokeswoman Annette Macias said.
About 30 to 40 people had been on the bus, Los Angeles County Fire Department dispatch supervisor Cheryl Sims said.
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