PORTLAND — The state medical examiner’s office concluded the slow process of identifying the dead from a charter bus crash in rural eastern Oregon that killed nine passengers.
Chun Ho Bahn, 63, of Bothell, Wash., and Ae Ja Kim, 61, of Gungwon Province, South Korea, were identified Thursday by Oregon State Police Lt. Gregg Hastings. The women were both married and their husbands remained hospitalized.
The bus, a 1998 Prevost motor coach, plunged through a guardrail and 200 feet down an embankment Sunday while returning to Vancouver, British Columbia, on the final leg of a nine-day vacation tour that included a stay in Las Vegas.
Authorities earlier identified five victims: Yongho Lee, 75, and Dale Osborn, 57, of Washington state and three residents of South Korea: Youmin Kim, 11, Oun Hong Jung, 67, and Joong Wha Kim, 63.
Hastings said the names of the final two victims would be released following family approval.
Investigators have yet to say what caused Oregon’s deadliest crash since 1971. The bus was traveling westbound in the passing lane of Interstate 84 when it hit a concrete barrier that divides the highway, veered across both westbound lanes and plowed through the guardrail. Some passengers were ejected.
“We’re not providing any updates on the investigation," Hastings said.
