Five family members injured — three critically — in bus fire in southern Utah

A father and four children were injured when the bus they called home burst into flames on Monday in southern Utah. Three family members were critically injured, and the others were left homeless by the fire.

According to the Washington County Sheriff’s Department, emergency personnel responded to the report of a vehicle fire in Veyo, a small town about 20 miles northwest of St. George. When deputies arrived, they found a Blue Bird bus almost fully ablaze, with flames shooting out the top.

All the occupants were out of the bus, but the father and two of his children suffered “severe burn injuries.” The other two children were taken to a hospital as a precaution.

Authorities did not release the names or ages of the victims, but a GoFundMe page was launched to benefit Kyle and Whitney Copeland and their four children. According to the fundraiser, the bus — in which the Copelands had been traveling and living — “exploded with everyone inside” at 10 p.m. Monday. Kyle Copeland and two of his children were flown by helicopter to a St. George hospital, then flown by helicopter to a burn unit at a Las Vegas hospital, where they are in “critical condition.”

According to the GoFundMe page, “their motorhome was their only home and transportation, and it is a total loss. … Additionally, they likely face many months of travel and painful medical treatment and bills.”

As of midday Tuesday, the page had raised about $37,000 — well above its $25,000 goal.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

from The Salt Lake Tribune https://ift.tt/3EzJtKo