Five people, including three preschool-age children, were killed when a school bus and a semi-truck collided Monday in Rushville, Ill., police said.
Illinois
3 children among 5 dead after school bus, semi-truck crash in Illinois
The bus driver, Angela Spiker, 57, of Rushville, and the semi-truck driver, David Coufal, 72, of Browning, Ill., were killed. The three children on the bus — Maria Miller, 5, Andrew Miller, 3, and Noah Driscoll, 3, all of Rushville — were also killed. The bodies will undergo a post-examination, Terry L. Millslagle, the Schuyler County coroner, said at a news conference.
“Schuyler County is a small county,” Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Redshaw said at the same news conference, “… so when you have a loss like this, it’s devastating. It’s quite a tragedy.”
There were no other children on the bus, Illinois State Police Capt. Jody Huffman added.
State police are investigating the cause.
The Schuyler-Industry Schools district, to which the school bus belonged, will be closed Tuesday and Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it will send a team to conduct a safety investigation into the incident.
Schuyler County is home to about 6,800 people, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Around 3,200 people live in Rushville, according to the city, which is about 215 miles southwest of Chicago.
An 18-year-old man is hospitalized after he was found shot in Joliet, Illinois, on Saturday evening.
Joliet police said around 6:46 p.m., officers responded to the area of East Benton Street and Polson Place for a report of a man shot.
Upon arrival, officers found the victim suffering from gunshot wounds to his back and left arm. Police said officers immediately rendered medical aid until Joliet Fire Department paramedics arrived.
The victim was taken to Silver Cross Hospital with life-threatening injuries before later being transferred to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood for further treatment.
Spent shell casings were found after detectives canvassed the area.
Police said there is no description of a suspect and the shooting remains under active investigation.
Anyone with video footage or information related to this shooting is asked to contact the Joliet Police Department Investigations Division at 815-724-3020. Anonymous tipsters can contact Will County Crime Stoppers at 800-323-6734 or submit a tip online at crimestoppersofwillcounty.org.
YORKTOWN, Va (WAVY) — A 31-year-old Illinois man has been sentenced after pleading guilty to exploiting a York County child online.
According to the York County Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office, Andres Arreola pleaded guilty to enticing a minor to perform child sexual abuse acts and using a communication system to facilitate certain offenses involving a child.
The case began in April 2025 after the parent of a 9-year-old child called the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office about inappropriate messages they found from Arreola to the child on an online chat platform.
Investigators determined Arreola sent sexually explicit messages and images to the child and persuaded the child to send explicit images in return, knowing the victim was a 9-year-old.
Detectives were able to identify Arreola in Illinois, where he was taken into custody. He was then extradited him to York County where he remained behind bars without bond. Detectives also recovered electronic evidence supporting the charges.
A judge ultimately sentenced Arreola to 40 years in prison, suspending 31 years and six months, leaving him with an active prison sentence of eight years and six months.
After his release, Arreola will serve 20 years of supervised probation. He cannot have unsupervised contact with minors and will be required to register with Virginia’s Sex Offender and Crimes against Minors Registry.
“The exploitation of children—whether in person or online—will not be tolerated in York County,” said Commonwealth’s Attorney Krystyn Reid in a statement.
Reid goes on to praise the investigators, prosecutors and the “the young victim and the victim’s family throughout this case. Anyone who seeks to harm a child, regardless of where they are located, should expect to be identified, brought before the court, prosecuted, and held accountable.”
A woman was taken into custody, accused of breaking into a home in Aurora, Illinois, on Saturday morning.
Aurora Police said around 9:14 a.m., officers responded to the 100 block of South Edgelawn Drive for a report of a residential burglary after a neighbor reported what they described as a suspicious person on the property.
Arriving officers found evidence of forced entry at the home and encountered a woman inside the residence who refused to come out.
Police said officers secured the area and members of the department’s negotiating team and Special Response Team responded to the scene. After more than an hour of negotiations, officers took the woman into custody without further incident and she was taken to an area hospital for evaluation.
No other individuals were inside the residence, and there were no injuries to officers or anyone in the area.
Investigation into the incident remains ongoing.
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