One dead, dozens critically injured in bus crash
Passengers have reported the the double-decker bus blew a tire before crashing into the bridge support. Photo courtesy of KSDK-TV.
A double-decker bus crash in Illinois has killed one person and injured about two dozen, the Chicago Tribune is reporting. The commercial bus crashed into a bridge support on Interstate 55, just north of Litchfield, Illinois, state police told NBC News.
About two dozen ambulances and emergency helicopters arrived on the scene to help the victims. Police said “approximately 25” were being treated at local hospitals and that several sustained critical injuries.
Local NBC station KSDK is reporting that the passenger who died in the accident was a woman who remains unnamed. The station said Illinois State Police confirmed that she was seated above the driver on the top level of the bus.
A passenger told KSDK that the bus driver lost control of the coach after a tire blew out.
Megabus company spokeswoman Amanda Byers told CNN that as many as 81 passengers may have been aboard the bus, which was travelling from Chicago to St. Louis. NBC is reporting there is a discrepancy in the number of passengers on board, with only 64 on the bus manifest.
The Chicago Tribune is reporting that 36 passengers were taken to the community center on two school busses. Janis Johns, transportation director of Litchfield Community Unit School District 12, told the Tribune that the passengers were either uninjured or mildly injured and included some children
“We're close to the highway. We try to help out when we can,” Johns told the paper.