Five killed – including three children – in school bus crash in Illinois

Five people were killed, including three children, after a school bus and a truck collided on a highway in western Illinois.

The bus was traveling west on US Route 24 at Parkview Road around 11:30 a.m. Monday when it swerved across the road and struck the truck head-on, Illinois State Police said. Both cars caught fire.

The accident occurred in Rushville, a small town about 60 miles outside of Springfield. The bus driver, truck driver and all three students on the bus were pronounced dead at the scene.

State police confirmed the three children and the driver were the only people on the bus at the time of the crash.

“There aren’t really words at this point that can be said,” Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Redshaw said at a news conference. ‘When you have a loss of life like this, it’s devastating.’

The students attended Schuyler-Industry Schools. The district posted a message to social media Monday afternoon.

“It is with heavy hearts that we announce that our school community has lost both staff and students in the traffic accident involving one of our school buses this morning,” the statement read. ‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and our community.’

School was canceled until and including Wednesday 13 March. The district plans to provide counselors and support staff for students and teachers.

The victims’ bodies were transported to Springfield Memorial Hospital for autopsies, according to Schuyler County Coroner Terry Millslagle. Their identities have not yet been confirmed.