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 Two people were killed and dozens more were injured after a speeding rental bus carrying construction workers crashed into a fire truck at the scene of an earlier crash on a Louisiana highway Sunday, state police said. 
 
 The 7:17 a.m. crash on Interstate 10 westbound in St. John the Baptist Parish threw three firefighters over a guardrail, sending them plummeting 30 to 40 feet into water below, state police said. 
 
 St. John the Baptist Parish Fire Chief Spencer Chauvin, 36, died, and a passenger in another car that was also struck was killed, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey said. Three others in the car that was struck were injured, one of whom was in critical condition. 
 
 "This is a very sad day for all first responders in Louisiana," Louisiana State Police Superintendent Col. Mike Edmonson said in a statement. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the St. John the Baptist Fire Department." 
 
 Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez Louisiana State Police 
 
 Authorities planned to charge the bus driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, 37, with two counts of negligent homicide, reckless operation and other crimes, Matey said. Additional charges were expected. 
 
 She said that Rodriguez, a Honduran national, was in the country illegally and was driving without a license. 
 
 A message left with the company that owns the vehicle, Kristina's Transportation LLC/AM Party Bus, was not immediately returned. 
 
 The bus, which was headed to Baton Rouge on Sunday morning, was carrying construction workers, officials said. 
 
 The earlier crash happened at around 6:40 a.m. local time (7:40 a.m. ET) when a 2005 Nissan Titan lost control and hit a guardrail and was in the right lane and shoulder of the highway, state police said. The driver suffered minor injuries. 
 
 Firefighters and a state police vehicle were responding to that crash when the the 2002 Eldorado National private party bus, which police said was traveling at a high rate of speed, hit the fire truck and other vehicles, police said. 
 
 The bus hit the left side of the fire engine stopped in the right lane, then hit the rear of a Toyota Camry, and then veered to the right and hit the three firefighters standing near the right guardrail, state police said. 
 
 A fatal crash on Interstate 10 in Louisiana killed two and injured dozens. Louisiana State Police 
 
 Forty-one people were transported to local hospitals, Acadian Ambulance Service said, including Chauvin, who was pronounced dead, Matey said. 
 
 The two other firefighters — William Mack, 35, and Nicholas Sale, 32 — were hospitalized with moderate and critical injuries. Twenty-four bus passengers were taken to local hospitals with minor and moderate injuries, Matey said. 
 
 A rear-seat passenger in the Camry, Jermaine Starr, 21, was declared dead at the scene, Matey said. The driver of the Camry and another rear seat passenger were hospitalized with serious injuries, and the front seat passenger was in critical condition, police said. 
 
 In a statement Sunday afternoon, St. John the Baptist Parish President Natalie Robottom described Chauvin as "one of the bravest and most dedicated firefighters that I know." 
 
 "This was a horrific accident," Robottom said. "This type of loss will affect the entire department and they will have our full support as they deal with the grief of losing a comrade." 
 
 "It is heartbreaking, especially after this same group of individuals helped to guide St. John the Baptist Parish safely through Hurricane Isaac, the February tornado and the flood event last week." 
 
 CORRECTION: This story initially said the passengers on the bus were flood relief workers. They were construction workers unrelated to flood relief efforts, state police said. 

 (Reuters) - A bus with an unlicensed driver spun out of control near New Orleans on Sunday, killing two people and injuring 41, while taking volunteers to help with Louisiana flood relief, officials said. 
 
 A private rental bus involved in a multiple car accident which killed two people is seen in a picture released by the Louisiana State Police. Louisiana State Police/Handout via Reuters 
 
 St. John the Baptist Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among those killed in the early morning crash after the chartered bus slammed into him as he tried to help victims of another accident, Louisiana State Police spokeswoman Melissa Matey told reporters at a news conference. 
 
 Two other firefighters were injured in the crash, one critically, and a passenger in another vehicle struck by the bus died at the scene, the spokeswoman said. 
 
 The driver, who was unauthorized to drive a commercial vehicle, was in custody and would be booked on suspicion of negligent homicide, reckless driving and driving without a license, Matey said. 
 
 “All three firemen were thrown over the guard rail and into the water below,” Matey said. 
 
 The incident started when a speeding pickup truck spun out of control, bouncing from one side of the road to the other before coming to rest along the right lane and shoulder of Interstate 10 near the community of Laplace, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of New Orleans, Matey said. 
 
 The firefighters and state police troopers were on scene to investigate when the bus, also out of control, slammed into the fire truck and a Toyota Camry, Matey said. Jermaine Starr, a passenger in the Camry, was pronounced dead at the scene. 
 
 It was not immediately clear why the bus driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, 37, lost control. 
 
 Rodriguez, who is from Honduras, was in the United States illegally and Homeland Security officials are assisting the state in its investigation, Matey said. 
 
 The Acadian Ambulance Service said on Twitter it had taken 38 people to hospitals and that a second ambulance company had transported three to hospitals. 
 
 Matey said at the news conference that most of the injuries to the 24 people on the bus were minor to moderate. 
 
 The bus, filled with volunteers to help residents recover from massive flooding in Louisiana earlier this month, was traveling westbound on Interstate 10 when it crashed into the fire truck and another vehicle, the television station and other media reported. 
 
 As many as 60,600 homes were reported damaged or destroyed in flooding that ravaged 20 parishes, or counties, in the southern part of Louisiana. About 3,000 residents were still living in shelters as of Aug. 22, officials said last week.
– Fire District Chief Spencer Chauvin was among two people killed in a horrific crash in St. John the Baptist Parish, La., early Sunday. Police say a bus full of volunteers on the way to help with flood relief slammed into Chauvin and two other firefighters while they were at the scene of an earlier accident, Reuters reports. The firefighters were thrown over a guardrail, falling more than 30 feet into water, police say. At least 40 people were taken to local hospitals, including 24 bus passengers with mild to moderate injuries. The bus driver, Denis Yasmir Amaya Rodriguez, was arrested and police say he is a Honduran national who was in the country illegally and was driving without a license, NBC News reports. Rodriguez is expected to face charges including negligent homicide and reckless operation, police say. Colleagues describe Chauvin, a 36-year-old father of two, as a dedicated officer and devoted family man. "Today, our community lost one of the bravest souls, a model citizen and one of its most dedicated servants," colleague Adam Tamplain posted on Facebook, per the Advocate. "In my 10 years in the department, I had the honor of serving alongside and under Spencer. ... Rest easy brother, we'll take it from here."