Bus carrying Illinois girls JV basketball team crashes driving home from game
A school bus carrying an Illinois girls high school basketball team crashed on its way home from a game on Wednesday night.
The Normal Community West High School girls junior varsity team from Normal, Ill., was on its way back from a game in Champaign, Ill.. The bus collided with a semi that was driving the wrong way head-on on I-74 near Downs, Ill., around 8:30 p.m. local time, according to multiple reports.
Illinois State Police have confirmed that two adults — the truck driver and an adult on the bus — have died from the accident, according to The Associated Press. Eight students were taken to local hospitals with non life-threatening injuries. There were 11 total students on the bus.
Videos on Facebook depict a horrific crash where part of the bus’ front was almost sheared off. The trailer of the semi can be seen near by the bus in those videos.
“There are injuries associated with this crash. Currently the crash remains an open and ongoing investigation,” Master Sgt. Ryan Cape said in an email to The Pantagraph.
Stan Lewis, the Normal West athletic director, told The Pantagraph that he was on his way to Peoria, Ill., because “one of our coaches is being airlifted there.”
According to DaLaun Dillard of WMBDNews in Peoria, police confirmed that 72-year-old Charles Crabtree died in the crash. He was a volunteer with the team.
Here’s a written statement from Unit 5 regarding the crash. pic.twitter.com/vGVoaGxtqu
— DaLaun Dillard (@DDillardTV) December 6, 2018
Illinois State Police said it’s not known why the semi was driving the wrong way on the interstate, and that it is currently under investigation.
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