3 Dead, 14 Injured After Greyhound Bus Crash on Illinois Highway Exit Ramp

A worker helps clear the wreckage of a Greyhound bus that collided with tractor-trailers on the exit ramp to a rest area on westbound Interstate 70 in Highland, Ill., on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.Photo:Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

Three people were killed and at least 14 were injured, some seriously, when a Greyhound passenger bus struck three other vehicles early Wednesday in southern Illinois, state police said.

“Initial investigation indicates a Greyhound passenger bus with passengers was traveling westbound on Interstate 70 and struck three commercial motor vehicles parked on the exit ramp to the Silver Lake Interstate 70 westbound rest area,” the agency said in anews release.

The three tractor-trailers were parked along the right shoulder of the long entrance ramp leading to the rest area, State Police Trooper Josh Korando told theSt. Louis Post-Dispatch. The truckers had pulled off the highway to sleep.

Officials examine a wrecked tractor-trailer that a Greyhound bus collided with on the exit ramp to a rest area on westbound Interstate 70 in Highland, Ill., on Wednesday, July 12, 2023.Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP

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Edward Alexander, a bus passenger, told thePost-Dispatchthat the crash sent him sliding down the aisle and that his nose was badly bleeding. According to the report, he helped a woman exit through a bus window after she complained of trouble breathing.

No one was injured in the other vehicles, which were tractor-trailers, according to theAssociated Press,CBS Newsand thePost-Dispatch.

State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold told the AP that those killed and injured were all on the Greyhound bus, but it wasn’t clear if the bus driver was among those killed or injured or if all of those involved were passengers.

“Our primary concern is ensuring we care for our passengers and driver at this time,” Greyhound told CBS News and thePost-Dispatch. The company said that the bus had 30 passengers onboard, including the driver, and was traveling from Indianapolis to St. Louis.

Greyhound sent another bus to pick up passengers who were not injured, according to the paper.

source: people.com