* Late yesterday afternoon, I decided to head out of town to see a friend and get in one last night of fun before the end of session death march commenced.

But I was surprised when traffic came to an almost complete stop a half hour south of Springfield on I-55. I grumbled and made jokes about a stupid traffic jam in the middle of nowhere, figuring it must have something to do with a huge construction zone further down the road.

* But then my friend called and said he’d just seen on the news that a school bus had crashed into a semi-truck. My passenger checked online and pulled up some terrifying pictures of the accident, like this one…

Oy.

The passengers were returning home after a field trip to Springfield, which apparently included a stop at the Statehouse.

It was just a heartbreaking moment.

* I was in kind of a bad mood yesterday, which is why I was heading to see my buddy. He always manages to cheer me up. But that wreck jolted me into reality. No minor problem compares to this stuff…

Parent Sherri Powell was on the bus transporting fifth graders with her daughter Brytani Powell, 12, which was ahead. After learning of the crash, the driver returned, she said.

Sherri Powell said more than a dozen ambulances were on scene and students were being loaded onto stretchers and fitted with neck braces.

“It was pretty much just chaos,” she said. “Kind of just a scene out of a horror movie.”

Parents were doing what they could to keep the children calm, she said.

One student, Jessica Davis, 12, of Alhambra, Ill., was airlifted to SSM Cardinal Glennon Children’s Medical Center, where she was being treated for a broken femur, said spokesperson Ashley Wiehle. She is in fair condition and expected to undergo surgery.

Eight other students and the bus driver were transported to area hospitals by ambulance.

* And…

Ambulances were summoned from the Litchfield Fire Department, Raymond/Harvel Ambulance Service, Gillespie Fire Department, Hillsboro Area Ambulance Service, Dunn’s Ambulance Service in Carlinville, Nokomis/Witt Area Ambulance Service, Farmersville Ambulance Service and Staunton Fire Department.

* The bus driver has been ticketed…

Police today say they fault the bus driver who smashed into the back of a tractor-trailer on Interstate 55 Monday, injuring more than a dozen sixth graders who were riding the bus on a field trip.

The bus driver, Henry E. Jaeger, 66, of Highland, has been issued a ticket for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, the Illinois State Police say. […]

Police say Jaeger’s bus was following the tractor-trailer in the right lane of southbound I-55 when the truck slowed for construction. Jaeger did not realize the truck had slowed in time to avoid striking the back of the truck, police say. Francis said traffic had slowed because construction crews ahead were resurfacing the interstate.

Thank goodness no kids were lost in that wreck.

* Anyway, it’s something to think about while we’re all bemoaning our lot in life as the session rumbles to yet another close.

       

21 Comments - Ghost of John Brown - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:33 am: Rich, although a terrible story, thanks for posting. Highways can be a very dangerous place. As construction fires up this summer, please be aware of construction zones and slow down. An extra 5 minutes isn’t going to kill you, but driving recklessly may kill someone else. http://www.dot.state.il.us/press/r062409.html - Levois - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:38 am: I’m glad no one was killed. That looks horrible. - Work Zones - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:43 am: Ghost, I appreciate your comments and agree that construction zones are places that deserve drivers’ complete attention. Here is an updated link though: http://www.dot.state.il.us/press/r042412.html - Work Zones - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:44 am: Please leave a safe following distance wherever you are driving. Thanks for posting this story Rich. - Team Sleep - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:51 am: I have two young boys and I think about their health and safety all the time. Seeing a story like this made me stop in my tracks last night and stare agape at the TV. It’s amazing how one’s emotions change when one becomes a parent! - cermak_rd - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:54 am: tractor trailers typically don’t stop on a dime (of course, neither do school buses). That bus must’ve been pretty close to that tractor trailer and the driver really must not’ve been paying attention. - nikoli - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 10:00 am: Evidently the bus driver was cited for failure to reduce speed… http://www.bnd.com/2012/05/15/2176532/bus-driver-faces-charges-in-crash.html - Highland, Il - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 10:03 am: This is our school district. The bus pictured usually is my son’s bus, but was away for the day on the trip. He was very concerned for the driver that is so nice to him on his short bus ride every school day. We were very thankful no one was critically injured….quite the miracle as you look at the picture above. - 32nd Ward Roscoe Village - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 10:46 am: Puts things in perspective. My seventh grader son is fond of saying when I am complaining about something: “First world problem, Mom.” - Anonymous - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 11:00 am: This is a stark reminder that this time of year we all need to be aware of construction crews and slow down!! I can only imagine the emotional toll on the kids and parents, thank God no life threatening injuries!! - TimB - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 12:16 pm: Even more poignant to me. My 5th grade granddaughter just returned from her “Springfield Trip” last week. But for the grace of God…….. - MrJM - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 12:29 pm: I don’t understand why there isn’t a State Trooper posted at every construction zone. The speeding tickets alone could balance the Illinois budget by Christmas. – MrJM - Huh? - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 2:54 pm: IDOT has a “Hire Back” program that pays for a trooper to patrol a construction zone. As an ex-IDOT Resident Engineer, I loved it when I had a trooper patrolling my work zones. I had one guy write something like 25 tickets, issue 30 warnings and haul off 3 people in a single 8 hour shift. - kayaker - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 3:47 pm: My post was taken off because I made a true statement of why there r few state troopers r on the road. They r all sitting behind a desk - kayaker - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 5:21 pm: I haven’t figured out why the get an alternate pension for sitting behind a desk for most of their career, a civil servant could do that work. Maybe because of paper cuts. - Past the rule of 85 - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 5:40 pm: Kayaker @5:21 “A civil servant could do that work.” I don’t think so. I’ve been on many accident scenes as a volunteer firefighter/EMT in a district with an interstate. The Police do a great job with traffic control in what can easily become a very dangerous situation. I doubt if many people would want to do that. The volunteer departments are always looking for new people so sign on and you can learn what it’s like to be responsible for lives at a mass casualty incident along a busy highway. - kayaker - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 6:04 pm: I was talking about doing a clerks work pushing paper not being in the field. I worked for that agency most of those guys do nothing behind a desk that a clerk could not do. They should be in patrol cars - kayaker - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 6:09 pm: If they want that big pension they should be doing the work to deserve it. - Liandro - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 6:16 pm: Thank God that nobody was lost; I will most certainly send up some prayers for those injured. It’s stomach-turning to see some of the photos–it could have been so much worse. - one day at a time - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 6:23 pm: Driving while distracted….cell phones aren’t the only problem. School Bus drivers have a lot of distractions. Its also too bad that school bus drives have lesser medical standards than truck drivers. - Capitol View - Tuesday, May 15, 12 @ 9:51 pm: It is virtually impossible to see around or ahead of a big truck. I would support a voluntary action by truck drivers and truck owners to have an automatic signal of some sort on the back of trucks for vehicles behind such trucks to know when big trucks are slowing down more than 5 or 10 MPH. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.