Three children and two adults were killed after a school bus collided with a semitruck on U.S. Route 24 in Illinois on Monday, according to police.
During a news briefing, Illinois State Police reported the fatal incident between the school bus and the semitruck carrying sand that occurred on the highway around 11:30 a.m. local time in Rushville.
According to preliminary accounts, the bus was traveling east on Route 24 when it crossed over into the westbound lanes in front of the semi-truck for an “unknown reason,” police added.
According to officials, both automobiles caught fire following the crash.
The school bus was carrying three youngsters when it crashed. Authorities stated the three youngsters and both drivers were pronounced dead at the site.
Schuyler County Coroner Terry Millslagle informed ABC News that the children who died in the tragedy were preschoolers. The victims’ families have been contacted.
Later Monday, the Schuyler County coroner confirmed the deaths of two adults, David Coufal, 72, and Angela Spiker, 57, as well as three children, Maria Miller, 5, Andrew Miller, 3, and Noah Driscoll, 3.
Schuyler-Industry Schools acknowledged the event in a “heavy heart” Facebook post on Monday.
“It is with a heavy heart that we announce our school community has lost both staff and students in the traffic incident involving one of our school buses this morning,” the text of the post said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and our community.”
Following the event, the school system canceled Tuesday and Wednesday classes.
The National Transportation Safety Board has indicated it will conduct an investigation.
“The NTSB, in coordination with Illinois State Police, is sending a team to conduct a safety investigation into Monday’s multivehicle collision involving a school bus and a truck tractor in combination with a semitrailer on U.S. Highway 24 in Rushville, Schuyler County, Illinois,” according to a post on the NTSB X page.
