A fiery crash involving a Tehama County transit bus that killed six people in January was not an accident, according to investigators who now say the pickup truck driver intentionally caused the collision.
The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office announced Monday that its investigation, conducted alongside the California Highway Patrol, found that 41-year-old Christina Sue Whittemore of Corning deliberately crossed the center line on Highway 99 and struck a Tehama Rural Area eXpress (TRAX) bus head-on on Jan. 14, 2026.
The crash occurred around 10 a.m. south of Gyle Road in Tehama County. The bus was carrying six people.
A head-on collision on Highway 99 in Tehama County on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, killed six people.
Whittemore and five people aboard the bus died in the collision. The lone survivor was identified by CHP as 54-year-old Joseph Rhoads, a passenger who suffered major injuries.
Officials said an autopsy determined Whittemore was under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the crash.
According to the sheriff’s office, investigators uncovered writings linked to Whittemore that included references to suicidal thoughts, financial problems, and illicit drug use. Authorities also determined from vehicle data that Whittemore made no attempt to slow down or stop before the collision.
Investigators said they uncovered additional evidence suggesting the crash was intentional. On Jan. 13, one day before the fatal collision, dash camera footage from a garbage truck showed Whittemore crossing into oncoming traffic in the same general area in what authorities described as an apparent attempt to collide head-on with the truck. The truck driver swerved and avoided a crash.
Because of those findings, the causes of death for the five people aboard the bus will be changed to homicide, the sheriff’s office said.
Those victims were identified as:
-
bus driver Kelly Margaret Langstaff, 50, of Red Bluff
-
Casandra Ann Moreno, 42, of Red Bluff
-
John Douglas Perry, 72, of Chico
-
Trena Kay Cain, also known as Trenna Darrow, 62, of Corning
-
Oscar Casas Carrillo, 41, of Corning.
Whittemore’s cause of death will be changed to suicide, authorities said.
Before publicly releasing the findings, the sheriff’s office said it notified the families of everyone who died in the crash.
“The Tehama County Sheriff’s Office recognizes the profound impact this tragedy has had on the families of those who lost their lives, the survivors, and the community,” the agency said in a statement.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: California driver intentionally caused crash that killed 6 people
Leave a Reply