A double-decker bus was headed from Chicago to St. Louis yesterday when it struck a bridge support. The bus crash killed one woman and injured at least 33 others. According to the Illinois State Police, a tire blew out on the bus shortly before it went off the road and struck the bridge support on Interstate 55. While the full investigation will not be completed for some time, there have been no reports of driver error as of yet.
Information regarding the full extent of the injuries was not immediately available. Thirty ambulances, as well as five emergency helicopters were used to transport the injured to medical facilities. Several of the people on the bus were critically injured in the collision. The driver required surgery for his injuries, but his condition was not believed to be life-threatening. In total, 47 people were taken to area hospitals following the accident. The woman who was killed was a 25-year-old Indian woman who was seated above the driver on the second deck of the bus.
The vehicle was operated by a budget intercity bus company called Megabus. According to the company, 81 tickets had been sold for the Chicago to St. Louis trip. The manifest for the bus listed 64 passengers. A Megabus spokesperson indicated that the vehicle had passed a preventative maintenance check within the past week.
Source: NBC News, "Woman killed as double-decker bus crashes into Illinois bridge," by M. Alex Johnson and Ziad Jaber, 2 August 2012
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