Current:Home > FinanceIllinois police identify 5 people, including 3 children, killed when school bus, semitruck collide-LoTradeCoin
Illinois police identify 5 people, including 3 children, killed when school bus, semitruck collide
View Date:2024-12-23 20:33:06
RUSHVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Authorities have identified the five people killed in a fiery crash, including both drivers and three children, when a school bus and a semitruck collided along a highway in western Illinois.
The eastbound bus from Schuyler-Industry Schools crossed the center line “for an unknown reason” Monday into westbound U.S. Route 24 and into the path of a semitruck carrying sand, Illinois State Police said, citing preliminary findings.
Both vehicles “became engulfed in flames” when the truck slammed into the bus around 11:30 a.m. in Rushville, a Schuyler County community of about 3,000 roughly 60 miles (95 kilometers) west of Springfield, state police said. All four people aboard the bus — three children and the driver — were killed, as was the semitruck driver.
The three children were identified by the Schuyler County coroner as 5-year-old Maria Miller, 3-year-old Andrew Miller and 3-year-old Noah Driscoll, all from Rushville, state police said. The school bus driver was identified as Angela Spiker, 57, of Rushville, and the truck driver as David Coufal, 72, of Browning, Illinois.
The county coroner said autopsies would be performed on the victims’ bodies in Springfield.
Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Redshaw told reporters Monday that the tragedy had hit the small, close-knit community particularly hard.
“There’s not really words at this time that can be said,” he said. “When you have a loss of life like this, it’s devastating.”
Schuyler-Industry Schools canceled classes Tuesday and Wednesday because of the crash.
“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 school district said in a statement.
The cause of the crash is under investigation by a National Transportation Safety Board team and state police, the Illinois agency announced.
veryGood! (48637)
Related
- Fantasy football Week 11: Trade value chart and rest of season rankings
- Extreme floods and droughts worsening with climate change, study finds
- This Is How Bachelor Zach Shallcross Reminded Us of His Total Nickelback Obsession
- What's Making Us Happy: A guide to your weekend viewing, listening and reading
- The results are in: Peanut the Squirrel did not have rabies, county official says
- 'Wait Wait' for July 1, 2023: With Not My Job guest Aleeza Ben Shalom
- Headed Towards a Tropical Beach Destination for Spring Break? Here's What to Pack
- The Sweet Ways Heather Rae and Tarek El Moussa Celebrated One Month With Son Tristan
- Nevada trial set for ‘Dances with Wolves’ actor in newly-revived sex abuse case
- Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes Gives Birth to Baby No. 2 Ahead of Prison Sentence
Ranking
- Judge weighs the merits of a lawsuit alleging ‘Real Housewives’ creators abused a cast member
- An original Princess Leia dress, expected to fetch $2 million at auction, went unsold
- Nearly 100 dead in Africa with Freddy set to become longest-lasting tropical cyclone on record
- King Charles III's coronation: What to know for the centuries-old ceremony
- Fire crews gain greater control over destructive Southern California wildfire
- Ukraine invites Ron DeSantis to visit after Florida governor calls war a territorial dispute
- Vanderpump Rules' James Kennedy Breaks Down in Tears Over Raquel Leviss Breakup
- After snub by Taylor Swift, Filipino 'Swifties' find solace in another Taylor
Recommendation
-
Louisiana House greenlights Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cuts
-
Cruise control: An homage to the relentless reliability of 'Mission: Impossible'
-
25th Anniversary Spectacular, Part IV!
-
King Charles III's coronation: What to know for the centuries-old ceremony
-
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, 4G
-
Katie Holmes' Surprisingly Affordable Necklace Is Back in Stock After Selling Out 4 Times
-
Facing book bans and restrictions on lessons, teachers are scared and self-censoring
-
Katie Holmes' Surprisingly Affordable Necklace Is Back in Stock After Selling Out 4 Times