1963 Chualar bus crash
| 1963 Chualar bus crash | |
|---|---|
| Details | |
| Date | September 17, 1963 |
| Location | Chualar, California, US |
| Coordinates | 36°33′14.24″N 121°30′10.44″W / 36.5539556°N 121.5029000°WCoordinates: 36°33′14.24″N 121°30′10.44″W / 36.5539556°N 121.5029000°W |
| Type of incident | Grade crossing |
| Cause | Bus driver negligence |
| Statistics | |
| Vehicles |
|
| Deaths | 32 |
| Injuries | 25 |
On September 17, 1963, a freight train collided with a bus carrying 58 migrant farmworkers on a railroad crossing outside Chualar in the Salinas Valley, California, killing 32 people and injuring 25. It was the worst fatal vehicle accident in United States history, according to the National Safety Council.
The tragedy was a factor in the decision by Congress in 1964 to terminate the bracero program, despite its strong support among farmers. It also helped spur the Chicano civil rights movement.
The workers on the bus lived at the Earl Myers Co. labor camp in Salinas, Monterey County, California, and were returning after a ten-hour shift harvesting celery and other vegetables from two fields in the Salinas Valley. Fifty-three were braceros contracted by the Growers Farm Labor Association of Salinas. There were also five non-bracero farm laborers, including one undocumented immigrant and two transients who were not Mexican-Americans. Of the five, only the undocumented immigrant was killed.
The passengers were riding on two long board benches running the length of the vehicle, which was a flatbed truck covered with a canopy, with the passengers unable to communicate with the driver. It was typical of the converted vehicles used to transport farmworkers in California, which in subsequent years have been criticized for endangering the safety of farmworkers. Some of the workers were sitting on the floor of the bus amid long knives used in the harvesting and metal food containers. The driver was the workers' foreman, Francisco "Pancho" Espinosa, who was 34 years of age and a permanent resident alien.
At about 4:20 to 4:25 p.m., Espinosa was traveling east on Thomas Ranch Road, a private country lane, approaching a single railroad track just to the west of, and parallel to, U.S. Route 101, a mile south of Chualar and about eight miles south of Salinas. The crossing, which was privately maintained, was not marked by lights, signs or signals. There were no trees, crops or other objects impeding visibility down the train tracks. The current location of the crash site is the intersection of Foletta Road and Broome Road.
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