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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — E. Vang Saelee, 74, became the ninth victim of the deadly bus accident that occurred on the way to a Colusa, Calif., casino Sunday night.

Saelee, a Iu Mien refugee from Laos who served in the CIA-funded secret war against the Vietnamese and Lao communists, died Friday morning at UC Davis Medical Center.

Saelee followed his wife, Meuay C. Saelee, 74, into death — she died at the scene of the bus crash on a country road.

Their only child is Rick Saelee.

"There's only myself left," said a devastated Rick Saelee, gazing at his father's soldier pictures from the Vietnam era.

"Among all the victims I've come across, he's the one who's having the hardest time because he's an orphan and doesn't have siblings jumping in to lend a hand," said Chiem-Seng Yaangh, who is helping the victims' families.

Sacramento Lao Family Community, the Hmong Women's Heritage Association, and Lao Family Community Development have set up a trust account to support the families of the victims. The account has been opened at American River Bank, 9750 Business Park Drive, Suite 100, Sacramento, CA 95827.

There are two separate accounts. The first account, No. 0210034268, is for victims' relief, and the second account, No. 0210034251, is for victims' funerals.

For information, call Kobi Vang of Sacramento Lao Family at 424-0864.

The "gambler's special" bus headed for the Colusa Casino Resort flipped Sunday night after the driver apparently fell asleep at the wheel. Bus owner Daniel Cobb was among those killed. Most of the 35 people who survived the crash were hurt, some critically.

Quintin J. Watts, 52, was driving the bus for the first time Sunday when it crashed. Injured during the crash and still hospitalized at Woodland Memorial Hospital, he is under arrest on a charge of driving under the influence.

Upon his release, he will be booked into Colusa County Jail on parole violations, a CHP spokeswoman said Friday. Charges stemming from the crash, if any, will be determined at the end of the CHP's investigation, she said.