RUSHVILLE, Ill. — Five people, including three young children, died Monday morning when a school bus collided with a tractor-trailer carrying sand.
Preliminary reports indicate the school bus was traveling east on Route 24 around 11:30 a.m. when the driver, 57-year-old Angela Spiker, crossed into the westbound lane “for unknown reasons” and collided with the truck, ABC 20 reports. Both vehicles became engulfed in flames.
The bus was transporting the three children to school at the time of the crash. The children, as well as both drivers, were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Schuyler County Coroner identified the other victims as David Coufal, 72, Maria Miller, 5, Andrew Miller, 3, and Noah Driscoll, 3. Maria and Andrew Miller were sister and brother, the coroner confirmed.
“There’s not really words at this time that can be said,” Sheriff Bill Redshaw said during a news conference. “When you have a loss of life like this, it’s devastating.”
The bus belonged to Schuyler-Industry Schools.
“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 district wrote in a Facebook post following the crash.
The school district canceled classes on Tuesday and Wednesday and made counselors and support staff available to students and teachers, according to the post. A GoFundMe page has been created for the Miller and Driscoll families.
The National Transportation Safety Board said it is coordinating with the Illinois State Police to investigate the crash.
