[chris]

A FedEx tractor-trailer crossed the center median on Interstate 5 near Orland on April 10, 2014, and hit a charter bus carrying Southern California high school students to Humboldt State University, killing 10 people and injuring dozens, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The northbound bus was one of several taking teenagers to Spring Preview Plus, a recruiting event at the university's Arcata campus for low-income and first-generation applicants. Investigators said the southbound truck first sideswiped a Nissan sedan, whose driver survived, before striking the Silverado Stages motorcoach head-on about 5:40 p.m. just north of Highway 32 in Glenn County. Both vehicles caught fire within seconds.

Passengers and passing motorists jammed 911 lines after the collision. In recordings the CHP released about a week later, callers, some still aboard the burning bus, struggled to describe what had happened over screaming in the background. Several students said they escaped by kicking out windows as smoke filled the cabin.

The dead included both drivers, FedEx driver Tim Evans, 32, and motorcoach driver Talalelei Lealao-Taiao, 53, of Sacramento. Also killed were Humboldt State admissions counselor Arthur Arzola, 26, of Rancho Cucamonga, and chaperones Michael Myvett and Mattison Haywood, an engaged couple. Five students died: Jennifer Bonilla of Los Angeles, Denise Gomez and Ismael Jimenez of Inglewood, Adrian Castro of El Monte, and Marisa Serrato, 17, of Riverside.

The CHP's final report, issued in 2015, concluded that Evans had committed an unsafe turning movement but found no clear reason the truck veered across the median. Investigators said there was no sign of braking or steering to avoid the bus and ruled out alcohol and drugs.

The National Transportation Safety Board reached a similar finding in July 2015, listing the probable cause as the truck driver's loss of control for reasons that could not be determined. The board ruled out mechanical failure, weather and the drivers' experience, and said evidence of fatigue was inconclusive, though one witness reported that Evans appeared slumped over as the truck approached oncoming traffic. The NTSB called for tougher motorcoach flammability standards and better emergency exits and lighting. Families of the dead and injured sued FedEx and Silverado Stages, one wrongful-death claim sought more than $100 million, and survivors alleged the bus lacked usable emergency exits.