News Local/State

Rantoul School Bus Collision Among Snow-Related Accidents

by The Associated Press, with additional reporting from Illinois Public Media
 

Authorities say one person died and three children on a school bus were injured on snow-slickened roads in central Illinois.

The (Bloomington) Pantagraph says the driver of an SUV was killed Monday night after it spun out of control on an Interstate 39 overpass by El Paso. The SUV slid into the path of a semitrailer.
 
And according to The News-Gazette, three students on a Rantoul Township High School bus were treated for injuries Tuesday after a car ran into their bus on a slick road near Dillsburg in Champaign County.

UPDATE:  In a press release, the school said later Tuesday morning that no students were hurt, and cleared by medical personnel.

Illinois State Police say a Laporte, Indiana man - Terrance Pearson - suffered a fractured spine and pelvic bone and is at Carle Foundation Hospital after a collision on Interstate 57 Monday night.   Troopers say the driver of a truck he was in failed to slow down in time, and skidded into a Pesotum fire truck responding to an unrelated accident.

In northern Illinois, injuries were reported in several collisions blamed on snow and black ice.

WMAQ-TV reports 13 cars were involved in a pileup on an icy Joliet bridge Monday evening. Two people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.