Girl, 11, seriously injured in Colo tour bus crash

GUNNISON, Colo. (AP) -- An 11-year-old girl was seriously injured and seven other passengers had moderate injuries after their tour bus veered off an icy mountain highway in central Colorado, the Colorado State Patrol said Sunday.

The 47-year-old driver, Fred Kornegay, was not hurt, but the 38 other passengers were taken to a hospital with minor injuries for precautionary reasons after the crash around 8:20 p.m. Saturday.

The tour bus was carrying a group from Trinity United Methodist Church in Denton, Texas, to the ski resort town of Crested Butte when it crashed on Highway 114, about eight miles southeast of Gunnison, the State Patrol said.

"The bus apparently failed to negotiate a curve, rolled off the road and onto its right side," Trooper Nate Reid told The Associated Press.

He described driving conditions as "bad," - icy and snowpacked and the stretch of highway had several curves. The National Weather Service had issued a winter storm warning for the area.

The bus was operated by Gotta Go Express Trail Ways. A phone message left at the company's office in Fort Worth early Sunday morning was not immediately returned.

According to U.S. Department of Transportation records, the company operates 33 vehicles and employs 71 drivers. The company holds a "satisfactory" rating from USDOT and has reported only one crash with an injury in the last two years.

The church did not immediately return an e-mail seeking comment Sunday.