The pickup driver who crashed head-on into a public transit bus in Tehama County earlier this year did so intentionally, killing herself and five people on the bus, according to the Tehama County Sheriff’s Office.
In a news release Monday, the Sheriff’s Office said the pickup driver, Christina Whittmore, was also under the influence of methamphetamine at the time of the Jan. 14 crash with the Tehama Rural Area Express bus on Highway 99 West.
California Highway Patrol investigators found writings connected to Whittmore referencing money problems, illegal drug use and thoughts of suicide, according to the release. Vehicle data also showed she made no effort to slow or stop before the crash, the release said.
In interviews summarized in National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation files, Whittmore’s daughter said she had a history of methamphetamine use but was believed to have been off the drug for over a decade.
Her daughter said Whittmore had been fired from her previous job in August 2025 but seemed happy at her new job as a home health nurse, according to the NTSB files. Whittmore’s grandfather had died by suicide in October 2025, but her daughter said she was not aware of any previous attempts or thoughts of suicide by Whittmore.
The Sheriff’s Office said death certificates in the crash will be updated to reflect Whittmore’s death as suicide and the deaths of the bus driver and four passengers as homicides.
