KITTRELL - Most of the 29 passengers on the Greyhound bus traveling south through Henderson before dawn had drifted back to sleep after a 3 a.m. stop in Richmond, Va.

Katrina Brown did not realize that their driver also had nodded off, until the bus rumbled off U.S. 1 in Vance County and struck a ditch bank on the right side, overturning and sliding almost 100 feet before skidding to a stop near the tree line.

Brown and 11 other passengers on the overnight route were injured in the wreck. They were taken, along with the other 17 people on the bus, to Maria Parham Medical Center in Henderson. None of the injuries were life-threatening, and most of the passengers stepped right back on a convoy of replacement buses after getting treated Tuesday morning.

"I'm ready to go home, but I'm scared to get back on a bus," said Brown, 20, her right arm wrapped in a sling.

The bus driver, Steven Leverne Holloman, 52, of Fredericksburg, Va., told troopers he fell asleep at the wheel, the state Highway Patrol said. Holloman was charged with careless and reckless driving. A Greyhound Lines spokesman said it is company policy for drivers involved in accidents to be placed on unpaid, nondriving status while law enforcement and Greyhound investigations are conducted.

The accident occurred at 5:46 a.m., according to the patrol, just north of Kittrell near the U.S. 1 Business intersection. The bus was traveling about 45 mph when it veered off the road, the patrol said.

"What woke me up was the 'BOOM!'," said Brown, of Fort Pierce, Fla. She was seated near the rear of the bus on the right side.

"All you know is the bus is tumbling over, and you open your eyes, and thousands of people are tumbling over you."

Other bus accidents

The accident was not far from where a Carolina Trailways bus bound for Raleigh ran into the rear of a tractor-trailer stopped on U.S. 1 in January. Twenty-seven passengers were injured in that accident. Including that wreck -- which involved a Greyhound Lines bus operated by Carolina Trailways -- there have been three documented accidents in North Carolina involving Greyhound buses since July 11, 2006, according to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

In those three accidents, according to FMCSA records, 80 people were injured.

Greyhound carries a "satisfactory" carrier safety rating overall. The highest safety rating overall, "satisfactory" indicates that records show "no evidence of substantial noncompliance with safety requirements."

Drowsy drivers

Not surprisingly, most accidents involving drowsy drivers or drivers who fall asleep occur after midnight, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports. About 40,000 nonfatal injuries and 1,550 fatalities a year are attributed to crashes involving drowsy or fatigued drivers, according to the NHTSA.

Brown said many of the passengers were quick to blame their driver for adding to those statistics.

"Everybody was being mean to him, but I was like, 'It happens,' " she said. "I told them to cut him some slack."

Javier Vera was sitting closer to the front on the left side when the bus veered off course. When Vera felt the bus begin to roll, the 36-year-old bricklayer said, he wrapped his arms around the back of the seat in front of him and braced himself to prevent himself from falling on top of the people seated on the other side, now directly below him.

"I just thank God I didn't go flying," he said.

The impact of the wreck forced out the window alongside Brown's row, she said. Jason Aaron, a nearby passenger with a prosthetic leg, climbed out an emergency hatch through the roof of the bus.

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