Cause of bus driver’s death released

Died as a result of the accident

QUINCY — The Grant County Coroner’s Office has determined that the driver of a tour bus killed in the Friday morning collision with school bus died as a result of the accident.

The Grant County Sheriff’s Office released the results of the autopsy Monday afternoon.

Sidney Austin, 71, of Spokane died as a result of multiple fractures and trauma sustained when the tour bus he was driving rear-ended the school bus, according to a GCSO press release.

The accident occurred on Road 5 Northwest at about 9 a.m. Friday, the press release said. The school bus was stopped in the westbound lane of Road 5 Northwest to pick up kids when it was rear-ended by a 2006 Jeep SUV driven by Jocelyn Gutierrez, 19, East Wenatchee.

Gutierrez pulled the jeep off the road into a nearby driveway, while the bus remained in the westbound lane. The school bus was then rear-ended by the tour bus. There was dense fog in the area of the accident, the press release said.

The 26 students on the bus and its driver, Jacqueline Mora, 56, of Ephrata sustained either no injuries or non-life-threatening injuries. Some of the 36 passengers sustained injuries, but they were not life-threatening. Gutierrez also sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

Cheryl Schweizer can be reached via email at education@coumbiabasinherald.com.