A man was killed when a school bus driver apparently ran a red light and collided with two SUVs near Wadsworth, but officials said the injuries among the dozens of elementary students on board were considered minor.
The accident happened around 8:05 a.m. at Route 173 and Kilbourne Road in Newport Township near Wadsworth as the bus was taking children to the Newport Elementary School, which holds grades kindergarten through fifth grade, officials said.
The bus "may have been late on the light" as it traveled west on Route 173 and struck a Jeep Wrangler headed south on Kilbourne, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said, citing witness accounts. "Close to a T-bone." A Jeep Cherokee at the intersection was also "hit very hard," he said.
The bus was knocked on its side and the windows were shattered, he said. "It's a bad scene," the sheriff said.
The driver of the Wrangler was killed. Officials described the injured children as "walking wounded."
The children were out of the bus when paramedics arrived. Twenty-three were determined to be code green, or good to fair condition, officials said. They were put on another bus with two paramedics on board and two ambulances as escorts on its way to Condell.
Another 12 students were sent to hospitals by ambulance.
"There was a complete range of emotions" among the children, said Brian Keller, chief of operations for the Lake County sheriff's office. "Some of the kids were upbeat and jovial as if they just got off a ride at Great America and other kids were asking for their mother or father and wanted to go home.
"But when we engaged in conversation with these kids and asked them questions about hobbies and sports, they changed the page real quick and were very upbeat and smiling," Keller said.
Asked why the children were not more seriously injured, Keller said the "high seatbacks" on the bus protected the "kids as they're bouncing on the bus" and it overturned.
Curran said authorities were questioning the woman who was driving the school bus. Witnesses have told police that she "ran a red light." She was not seriously injured.
The bus driver is "coherent, obviously upset," Curran said. Officials said she will undergo a drug and alcohol screen, required whenever there is a fatal accident.
Twenty-three of the children were taken by another school bus to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with two paramedics on board and two ambulances following.
Twelve other children were taken by ambulance to other hospitals, along with two people from the Jeep Cherokee.
Sarah Toomey, spokeswoman for Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, said 25 patients were transported to the hospital from the bus crash.
Toomey said 23 patients are currently reported in good to fair condition and two patients are in fair to serious condition. She could not say if the patients were children or adults.
“Things are still developing here,” Toomey said Friday morning. “These numbers could change.”
A social worker from Newport Elementary School in Wadsworth is currently at the Libertyville-based hospital to assist families of injured students, Toomey said. The hospital also has its own social worker on site helping out, she said.
Six students were taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. One female student was reported by the hospital in fair condition with one or more broken bones. The other two male students and three female students are all in good condition.
The accident happened around 8:05 a.m. at Route 173 and Kilbourne Road in Newport Township near Wadsworth as the bus was taking children to the Newport Elementary School, which holds grades kindergarten through fifth grade, officials said.
The bus "may have been late on the light" as it traveled west on Route 173 and struck a Jeep Wrangler headed south on Kilbourne, Lake County Sheriff Mark Curran said, citing witness accounts. "Close to a T-bone." A Jeep Cherokee at the intersection was also "hit very hard," he said.
The bus was knocked on its side and the windows were shattered, he said. "It's a bad scene," the sheriff said.
The driver of the Wrangler was killed. Officials described the injured children as "walking wounded."
The children were out of the bus when paramedics arrived. Twenty-three were determined to be code green, or good to fair condition, officials said. They were put on another bus with two paramedics on board and two ambulances as escorts on its way to Condell.
Another 12 students were sent to hospitals by ambulance.
"There was a complete range of emotions" among the children, said Brian Keller, chief of operations for the Lake County sheriff's office. "Some of the kids were upbeat and jovial as if they just got off a ride at Great America and other kids were asking for their mother or father and wanted to go home.
"But when we engaged in conversation with these kids and asked them questions about hobbies and sports, they changed the page real quick and were very upbeat and smiling," Keller said.
Asked why the children were not more seriously injured, Keller said the "high seatbacks" on the bus protected the "kids as they're bouncing on the bus" and it overturned.
Curran said authorities were questioning the woman who was driving the school bus. Witnesses have told police that she "ran a red light." She was not seriously injured.
The bus driver is "coherent, obviously upset," Curran said. Officials said she will undergo a drug and alcohol screen, required whenever there is a fatal accident.
Twenty-three of the children were taken by another school bus to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville with two paramedics on board and two ambulances following.
Twelve other children were taken by ambulance to other hospitals, along with two people from the Jeep Cherokee.
Sarah Toomey, spokeswoman for Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, said 25 patients were transported to the hospital from the bus crash.
Toomey said 23 patients are currently reported in good to fair condition and two patients are in fair to serious condition. She could not say if the patients were children or adults.
“Things are still developing here,” Toomey said Friday morning. “These numbers could change.”
A social worker from Newport Elementary School in Wadsworth is currently at the Libertyville-based hospital to assist families of injured students, Toomey said. The hospital also has its own social worker on site helping out, she said.
Six students were taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan. One female student was reported by the hospital in fair condition with one or more broken bones. The other two male students and three female students are all in good condition.
Source: ChicagoTribune
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