67 Killed When Bus Slides Off Mexico Cliff

bus-plunge genre has honorable tradition as column filler

this one has been elevated to disaster status.

the rule for disasters is, for foreign, ``including XXX Americans,'' and for domestic, ``including XXX children.''

but now the soap possibilities are seized directly, going for the women with child-death heartstring-pulling.

it's the ruination of the venerable column-filler tradition.

A vastly overcrowded passenger bus veered off a highway emergency ramp and crashed through a metal barrier Monday, plunging more than 650 feet into a ravine in western Mexico. At least 67 people were killed, including four children.

Four people _ including an 8-year-old girl _ were injured in the wreck that came as the bus traveled on steep mountainous roads.