TAMA COUNTY - Investigators say the driver responsible for a bus crash was in another crash earlier in the day.

The bus crash happened around 11:30 a.m. on highway 30 in Tama County.

The bus started out in Cedar Rapids, and was headed to the Meskwaki Bingo Casino Hotel.

The bus was loaded with senior citizens on their way to the casino, according to eye witnesses.

Investigators say 79-year-old Ronald Kitch or Cedar Rapids was driving a car and crossed the centerline and hit the bus. The bus went rolling down the side of the road.

Motorist Deb Larson was driving behind the bus when it crashed. She tells TV9 she saw the driver of the eastbound car cross the center line and hit the bus, pushing the bus off of the road. Larson said it was like watching it happen in slow motion as the bus tipped onto its side. She said she went to the car to help the driver, she said he was conscious, but didn't know what had happened, he was confused. So Larson says she went down into the ditch to help the people in the bus. Some people were pinned. Paramedics had to carry down 3 or 4 stretchers to bring people out. Others walked out. Larson says the people on the bus all appeared to be senior citizens.

Thirty-five people were hurt and taken to a Marshalltown hospital, according to a State Patrol accident information website.

Kitch was taken to a Marshalltown hospital in critical condition, according to State Patrol investigators on the scene.

"It's very lucky we only had the one critically injured subject. And who knows if he was distracted or playing with the radio or what caused the accident. and until we talk to him we won't really know what he was doing," said Trooper Doug Cutts with the Iowa State Patrol.

Late Wednesday State Patrol Investigators said the car's driver was in another crash earlier in the day, when he ran into a pole in Tama County.

Investigators say with that, they think a medical condition might have played a role but they are still looking into the situation.

While the area is busy with RAGBRAI, the riders are not riding on this stretch of the road.

Highway 30 was closed between T47 and Highway 63 was closed in both directions, but has since re-opened.