L.A. bound Greyhound bus crashes in New Mexico, at least 7 dead

A Greyhound bus with an ultimate destination of downtown Los Angeles was struck by a big rig on Interstate 40 in New Mexico Thursday, killing at least seven people.

The crash occurred near Thoreau, New Mexico, near the Arizona border. New Mexico state police said there were 48 people aboard the bus and one person-- the driver -- in the big rig when the crash occurred around midday.

Police said late Thursday afternoon that at least seven people had died, but investigators expected the number of fatalities to rise. All but six people involved in the crash were taken to hospitals.

According to Greyhound's website, bus 1333 left St. Louis from Wednesday morning. It was scheduled to arrive in Phoenix Thursday afternoon.

The bus had an ultimate destination of Los Angeles, where it was expected to arrive about 1 a.m. Friday.

The McKinley County Emergency Management department set up a hotline -- (505) 722-2002 -- for family members of passengers looking for information on their relatives.