SEATTLE - One person was killed Tuesday morning when a passenger vehicle collided head-on with a Metro bus on State Route 169 (Maple Valley Road) at Jones Road near Renton.

According to the Washington State Patrol, the accident occurred just after 7 a.m.

The driver of a southbound Honda Civic apparently tried to pass several dump trucks but couldn't get back into the southbound lanes in time. The Honda hit the bus nearly head-on.

Passenger Brandon Leaf said he knew it wasn't good when he saw the car spinning 360 degrees behind them.

"It was a little overwhelming," he said.

The driver of the Honda was killed.

Troopers said they found an open container of hard alcohol next to the driver, but it's not yet known if the driver was intoxicated.

Metro's Linda Thielke said Metro bus 143 was heading toward Seattle when the accident occured. She said there were 38-40 passengers on the bus but no one was injured.

Metro sent another bus to the scene to pick up the passengers and continue their commute. They were clearly shaken by the accident.

"I walked over there to see what I could do, I realized the futility of that when I saw the vehicle. My heart goes out to the family," Leaf said.