A Sandoval County Sheriff’s deputy who was the first on the scene of a deadly bus crash is sharing the story of what he saw. 

The crash on I-25 north of Bernalillo happened early Sunday morning, killing three people and injuring dozens of others. 

Sergeant Mark Komadina of the Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office was the first emergency responder to arrive on the scene. His body camera captured footage of the initial response. 

“When an incident like that happens, time is of the essence,” said Komadina. 

The nearly 10-year veteran of the sheriff’s office, Komadina says he knew from the moment he arrived that lives were at risk, seeing a bus turned over on its side. 

“This is the worst motor vehicle crash I’ve ever responded to,” said Komadina of his thoughts when he arrived on scene. 

The crash early Sunday morning involved five vehicles, including a bus, a semi-truck and three other cars. Twenty-eight people were on board the bus, many of whom were seriously hurt. 

“People were just kind of walking everywhere,” said Komadina. 

Of the many injured, some only spoke Spanish, which Komadina is fluent in. 

“I kept on telling them in Spanish, ‘you’re going to be OK, we have help en route,’ and try to assess kind of where their injuries were,” said Komadina. 

That quick action is what helped save some lives in the aftermath of the crash. One victim had part of their arm severed in the crash. Komadina says he used a tourniquet on the victim’s arm to stop the bleeding. 

“Yesterday, I actually found that that passenger survived because I put that tourniquet on,” said Komadina. 

The sergeant also credits some of the crash victims that helped. He says the people who weren’t seriously injured helped tend to other passengers. 

“They tremendously helped, they, you know, helped try to calm down some of the kids,” said Komadina. 

He says ultimately, that community response made a huge difference. 

“From the paramedics to the firefighters to all the officers on scene everybody did a phenomenal job and for that reason… that’s why lives were saved,” said Komadina. 

The three people who died in the crash were all on board the bus. Those victims were from Mexico, traveling from Colorado through New Mexico. 

The Sandoval County Sheriff’s Office says it’s still investigating the crash, which started with one car rear-ending another. The sheriff’s office says the district attorney will ultimately determine if anyone will face charges.