David Hannell, owner of Merseypride, the company that the crashed A3 coach belongs to, has said he felt "devastated" on hearing the news.
Speaking outside the company depot in Speke, Liverpool, he said:
Further to the news of one of our vehicles being involved in a tragic accident on the return journey from the Isle of White festival, myself and the company offer our heartfelt sympathy to all the families of the passengers involved.
We ourselves are devastated. I've been up all night worried sick about what's been happening."
Mr Hannell said the police had not told him anything and that "nobody seems to know what's happened".
He said this was the first serious accident Merseypride had had in 20 years and that the company had cancelled school jobs today because his drivers were not in the right frame of mind.
The wife of coach company owner David Hannell has said that the family are "shocked and sad."
The coach, believed to be operated by Merseypride, crashed off the A3 in Surrey late last night.
Eileen Hannell, who lives with her husband in Runcorn, Cheshire, declined to identify the driver but said he had worked for them "for quite a while".
There's nothing we can say because my husband doesn't know that much.I was coming back from holiday and he picked me up at the airport this morning and said, "I've got some sad news."
He had a phone call from the police at 2.30am and was told there were two people in hospital and three people dead."
Nothing like this has ever happened before
As soon as he heard he went into the office and was there all through the night. My husband is busy taking phone calls and trying to find out what's happening - we just don't know.It's awful.
We are all shocked and still trying to take it in. It's very sad.
– Eileen Hannell, wife of Merseypride owner David Hannell
The organisers of Bestival have commented on the A3 Surrey coach crash, saying: "This is devastating news, our thoughts are with the relatives of those affected by this tragic incident.
"We are currently liaising with Surrey Police to establish the facts."
Police investigating a coach crash in Surrey say they believe the driver of the coach was among the three people killed when the 51-seater coach crashed off the A3 near Hindhead Bridge and ploughed into a tree.
Police said all the surviving passengers were taken to hospital and that some are being treated for "life-changing injuries."
Asked for details, inspector Richard Mallett from Surrey Police said he thought some of those injured would lose limbs.
He also confirmed the standard of driving would form part of their investigation.
It is understood two of the bodies have not yet been removed from the wreckage.
Police say they will look at CCTV footage after coach crash
Surrey Police Inspector Richard Mallett has given more details about the A3 coach crash, saying that police will study nearby CCTV footage.
Speaking on Sky News, he said:
We would be grateful for any witnesses.
We need to make sure we get the people out properly before we can broaden the investigation. We are reasonably confident that the driver is still in the vehicle.
CCTV will be looked at.
We have a couple of witnesses which we've spoken to.
It's still going to be a considerable amount of time [before all bodies can be removed.
Every survivor was taken to hospital, after that they were taken to a local reception centre, and some were taken home.
