March 11 (UPI) — Five people, including three children, were killed Monday in a fiery crash between a school bus and a semi-trailer truck in western Illinois, authorities said.
The three children, as well as the drivers of the school bus and the truck, all died at the scene at Rushville, Ill., in rural Schuyler County, an Illinois State Police spokeswoman told reporters.
Rushville is located about 225 miles southwest of Chicago and 125 miles north of St. Louis.
The accident happened at about 11:30 a.m. along U.S. Highway 24 at its intersection with Parkview Road in a commercial area of the town of 3,000 people. State troopers said the school bus was westbound on the highway when it crossed over into the path of the oncoming truck “for an unknown reason.”
Both vehicles were engulfed in flames after the collision. The three children and the driver were the only people aboard the bus at the time of incident, authorities said.
“Schuyler County is a small county, a small community, and Rushville, Illinois, it’s a close-knit family, and when when you have lost lives like this, it’s devastating, it’s quite a tragedy,” said Schuyler County Sheriff Sheriff Bill Redshaw.
The accident remains under investigation by the Illinois State Police.
“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 Schuyler-Industry School District officials wrote in a Facebook post. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and our community.”
District officials withheld the names of the victims and called off classes for Tuesday and Wednesday, allowing time for the community to mourn.
“Counselors and support staff will still be available for students and teachers during this very difficult time,” the district said.