Three dead, 14 seriously injured in Illinois Greyhound bus crash

A Greyhound bus slammed into a group of parked tractor-trailers and had its entire right side ripped open in southern Illinois on Wednesday, leaving three people dead and 14 others seriously injured.

The passenger coach was traveling west across Interstate 70 in Madison County just before 2 a.m. when it collided with three semis that were parked along the entrance to a rest area, Illinois State Police said.

In addition to the three passengers who were killed, 10 people were taken to the hospital by helicopter and at least 10 others were transported by ambulance.

State police spokesperson Melany Arnold couldn’t say if the bus driver was among those killed or taken to the hospital.

No one inside the tractor-trailers, which were parked along the shoulder of the interstate exit as their drivers slept, were hurt in the crash, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The rest area’s parking lot was at capacity at the time of the accident, police said.

The crash closed westbound traffic on I-70 in Highland, a city about 25 miles east of St. Louis, for several hours.

The interstate reopened at about 5 a.m., officials said.

The forceful collision damaged the right front portion of the bus, which had been carrying about 30 people including the driver.

Greyhound spokesperson Mike Ogulnick said the bus was traveling from Indianapolis to St. Louis, where it was scheduled to arrive at about 2:20 a.m.

“Our primary concern is ensuring we care for our passengers and driver at this time,” Ogulnick said. “We are working closely with local authorities and a relief bus is on the way for passengers.”

A second bus was sent to the scene to transport uninjured passengers, Ogulnick said.

Authorities have not released any details about the killed and injured people.

It’s unclear how many passengers were uninjured.

With Post wires