Determining what caused a tour bus to flip over on Interstate 90 Wednesday, killing two people and injuring 21 others, could be a lengthy process, according to Minnesota law enforcement.

Meanwhile, the bus company reports that a ruptured blood vessel in the driver’s chest caused him to pass out.

Minnesota State Patrol Capt. Matt Langer said Thursday it is too early to speculate about the cause of the tour bus crash and said the investigation will likely take weeks if not months.

“Investigations like this case take a great deal of time to complete given the number of people involved and the intricate nature of conducting a thorough post-crash commercial vehicle inspection of the motor coach involved in this crash,” said Langer, during a press conference at the Minnesota Department of Public Safety headquarters in St. Paul.

It wouldn’t be uncommon for the investigation to last several weeks or even several months, he said.

The crash took place at 3:09 p.m. Wednesday three miles west of Austin. The bus, of Strain Bus Line Motorcoach Tours of Rochester, landed on its right side after crossing a median and avoiding oncoming traffic on Interstate 90 three miles west of Austin.

The bus was headed back to Rochester following a day trip to Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa.

Though the State Patrol cannot speculate as to the cause of the crash this early in the investigation, one factor being considered is whether the driver, Ed Erickson, 52, of Elgin, suffered a “medical episode” while behind the wheel, a press release states.

“We’re aware of the media reports saying that the driver of the bus suffered a medical episode,” Langer said. “Standing here today, I’m unable to discuss details about that other than to say that we’re aware of it. His medical condition and any medical episode suffered at the time of the crash is just one of many things we’re looking at in trying to determine what caused this collision.”

Steve Burt, office manager at Strain Motorcoach Tours, said the bus driver suffered a ruptured blood vessel in his chest that increased blood flow to the head, causing the driver to pass out. He added that Erickson’s condition was recently downgraded from critical to serious.

Erickson passed his most recent Minnesota Department of Transportation physical, Burt said.
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Of those injured, 13 were taken to Austin Medical Center.

AMC officials confirmed Thursday that all of them had been released except for three.

Betty Holmquist of Kasson, 82, Adele Larson of Rochester, 85 and Betty Prigge of Byron, 77, are all in fair condition, AMC’s Amy Bawek said.

Dr. Cynthia Dube, medical director at Austin Medical Center, said the response from all the departments within the medical center was outstanding.

“We activated our incident crisis command center immediately, which means many different departments were preparing for multiple duties and responsibilities once patients arrived,” Dube said in a statement. “From our providers, nursing staff, radiology to housekeeping, many people showed incredible teamwork and outstanding patient care. We practice crisis drills regularly and everyone’s commitment to provide the best care possible truly showed during (Wednesday’s) crisis.”

The lone Austin passenger in the bus was Ardell Swenson, 71, who suffered minor injuries and was treated and released at AMC.

Swenson, who lives between Austin and Blooming Prairie and got on the bus in Blooming Prairie, said she thinks she dozed off while reading around the time of the accident.

“I am so thankful because I am in so much better condition than the others on the bus,” Swenson said.

Swenson took the day trip by herself, in a somewhat spur of the moment decision.

“I just thought to myself yesterday (Wednesday) that I wanted to have a little fun and have a relaxing day,” she said. “I had fun, but of course it did not turn out to be relaxing … but I feel so very, very fortunate.”

The two passengers killed in the crash were Rhonda Hill, 52, of Plainview and Pamela Holmquist, 56, of Kasson.

Langer said the focus of the State Patrol’s investigation Thursday was to speak with everyone on board the bus and any witnesses to the crash. They are also beginning the commercial vehicle inspection effort on both the bus and the bus company.

The casino trip takes place every Wednesday, picks up passengers at Rochester and surrounding areas in the morning, arrives at the casino around 11 a.m., then heads back after roughly four hours at the casino.

Kim Pang, general manager of Diamond Jo Casino, released the following statement Thursday morning:

“Strain Motorcoach has traveled from Rochester, Minnesota to the Diamond Jo every week for more than a year. When we hear about tragedies like this it’s heartbreaking, but when it hits so close to home, to our friends, it’s devastating. We will continue to keep the driver, passengers, their friends and family in our thoughts and prayers.”

The bus no longer is in the ditch. It was towed to an Austin junkyard.

— Sarah Stultz, Rachel Drewelow, Jason Schoonover, Mike Rose and Tim Engstrom contributed to this report.