At least five people died and several others suffered injuries early Tuesday when a bus collided with a pole on Highway 99 in Merced County, California.

The crash was reported just after 3 a.m. between Merced and Atwater, according to multiple reports.

The bus was traveling north from Mexico and bound for Pasco, Washington, with about 30 passengers on board when it veered off the road and into the pole, according to KFSN.

Video from the scene showed firefighters climbing up to the high broken windows of the bus to get to the people inside. Glass appeared to be everywhere. Several ambulances and at least one helicopter were in the area.

The bus appeared to have been split in half by the pole.

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Fulton DA Fani Willis (center) with Nathan J. Wade (right), the special prosecutor she hired to manage the Trump case and had a romantic relationship with, at a news conference announcing charges against President-elect Donald Trump and others in Atlanta, Aug. 14, 2023. Georgia’s Supreme Court on Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, upheld an appeals court's decision to disqualify Willis from the election interference case against Trump and his allies. (Kenny Holston/New York Times)

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