One dead and at least 48 injured in Megabus crash on I-55 in Illinois

Mike Gallagher

Aug 2, 2012 - 17:12

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One dead and at least 48 injured in Megabus crash on I-55 in Illinois

Smashed: Carrying a full load of 81 passengers, 48 were reported hospitalized or on route to a medical facility after this discount charter crashed into a highway concrete pillar

One is dead and at least 48 injured after a packed double-decker Megabus blew a tyre and slammed head-on into a concrete bridge support pillar on an Illinois interstate on Thursday.

With a female passenger's confirmed death, 48 of the bus’ passengers were reported hospitalized or on route to a medical facility by KSDK after the discount charter bus crashed mid-afteoon in Litchfield while travelling from Chicago to Kansas City.

The woman, who has not been identified, was sitting above the driver on the second floor at the time of the crash that's believed to have been caused by a blown tyre.

'We received a report it had blown a tyre which caused it to run off the road,' said Illinois State Police Trooper Doug Francis. 'The bus did stay upright.'

Cause: The vehicle is believed to have blown a tire causing the bus driver to lose control and crash on Thursday afteoon

Francis reported 30 ambulances and 10 medical helicopters sent to the scene while confirming 'approximately 25' injured with 'several' critically.

The exact number of passengers on board the bus is unclear with a MegaBus spokeswoman reporting it having been at full capacity with 81 passengers while police report it only having 64.

Those receiving treatment were reported with non-life-threatening injuries with some riders who suffered broken bones already discharged.

According to KSDK, St Francis Hospital in Litchfield reported receiving 19 patients by Thursday afteoon with additional ambulances still making their way from the scene.

Twenty more patients were taken to the community center in Litchfield with Memorial Hospital in Springfield, Illinois having reported receiving two patients and three more on the way.

Community Memorial Hospital in Staunton, Illinois said they had treated three patients and Saint Louis University Hospital said they had one on their way.

Injuries: Police reported 30 ambulances and 10 medical helicopters were sent to the scene with passengers found either uninjured or mildly injured

Survivor: Appearing with some cuts to her face, MegaBus passenger Megan described the crash that sent surrounding passengers onto the floor, leaving some unconscious

Television helicopter footage shows numerous emergency vehicles surrounding the bus and rescue crews climbing ladders to reach inside its crumpled front end. Some passengers could be seen being tended to along the side of Interstate 55, which was shut down in both directions.

Speaking with one passenger who made it off the bus with some visible injuries above her right eye and her ear, the woman identifying herself as Megan said she was on the top level of the bus when she felt the tyre blow and then swerve off the highway.

'I just feel really, really lucky,' she told KSDK. 'Having conversations with people and then you see them on the ground, not conscious,' she said.

'People closer to the front of the bus, at least on the top tier, fell out of their seats. Some people fell onto the ground.

'I'm not sure if people actually flew through the windows but I know that there were people trapped on the bus. We were on the accident sight for possibly an hour... there were people still trapped on the bus after an hour.'

MegaBus spokeswoman Amanda Byers said the bus was at full capacity when it crashed near Litchfield, about 55 miles northeast of St. Louis. It also was to stop in St. Louis and Columbia, Mo.

About 36 passengers from the bus were taken on two school buses from the crash site to the community center in Litchfield, said Janis Johns, transportation director of Litchfield Community Unit School District 12.

Relief: Crashing in mid-afteoon, passengers were taken from the scene in school buses while provided water from the heat

The passengers were either uninjured or mildly injured and included some children, Johns said. One woman was brought on a stretcher in the school bus.

The school district sent a third school bus to the crash site, but it wasn't needed, Johns said.

'We're close to the highway. We try to help out when we can,' Johns said.

The Red Cross will be notified and coolers of water will be provided, she said.

'It was very warm out there,' she said, and some crash survivors were overheated.