Three people were killed and 14 others injured, some seriously, early Wednesday when a Greyhound bus crashed into three tractor-trailers parked along a highway exit to a rest area in southern Illinois, state police said.
Illinois State Police said an initial investigation indicates a Greyhound passenger bus was westbound along Interstate 70 in Madison County around 1:55 a.m. when it crashed into the three tractor-trailers, which were parked on the exit ramp to the Silver Lake Rest Area.
“Three fatalities are confirmed and multiple others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, four by helicopter and at least 10 by ambulance,” state police said in a news release. Police have not released specific details about those who were injured and killed.
The agency said no one in the three trucks was injured in the crash near the city of Highland about 25 miles (40 kilometers) east of St. Louis.
State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold said those killed and injured were all on the Greyhound bus. She was not sure if the bus driver was among those killed or injured or if all of those involved were passengers.
Arnold said additional information was not immediately available on the circumstances of the crash, which closed westbound traffic on I-70.
Television footage of the scene shows the badly damaged right front portion of the bus wedged onto the rear of a tractor-tractor. The roof of the bus is crumpled. A second tractor-trailer appears to have made contact with the right rear of the bus while a third tractor-trailer appears to have crashed into the rear of that second semi.
Greyhound spokesperson Mike Ogulnick told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in an email the bus was traveling from Indianapolis to St. Louis, where it was scheduled to arrive at about 2:20 a.m. It was carrying about 30 people, including the driver, he said.
“Our primary concern is ensuring we care for our passengers and driver at this time,” Ogulnick said. “We are working closely with local authorities and a relief bus is on the way for passengers.”
Another bus was sent to transport passengers who were not hurt, Ogulnick said.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed - Associated Press)
