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School bus overturns on Interstate 80

Students were reportedly injured when a school bus overturned on Interstate 80 at Interstate 88 in East Moline, Illinois.

Students were reportedly injured when a school bus overturned on Interstate 80 at Interstate 88 in East Moline, Illinois.  The small bus was taking 11 girls from Geneseo Middle School to John Deere for a girls engineering field trip according to the school's principal.

"The conditions that we had this morning were extremely dangerous," said Trooper Jason Wilson, Illinois State Police.  "It gave that confidence that you could drive faster than what you really should have been driving."

The bus was reportedly traveling on Interstate 80 when it struck black ice, crashed and overturned, landing in the median at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday, February 26, 2015.  Emergency vehicles were blocking the westbound lanes, allowing one narrow lane of traffic to pass the scene of the crash.  The left shoulder and part of the left lane was also blocked for eastbound I-80 traffic.

Related: "Bus boss" says teachers and coaches should be trained to drive small buses

First responders reported the bus was on its side, and three people were still inside the bus when they arrived.  At least seven others were reportedly outside the bus.  At least three people were initially expected to be taken by ambulance to a local hospital.

"We had fire officials inside the bus, making sure that the kids were calm," said Lt. Thomas Reagan, East Moline Police.  "They had blankets on them, and it was a nice, easy evacuation off the bus."

"The kids just really held it together," said East Moline Fire Chief Rob DeFrance.  "It made it a lot more orderly."

Eleven students and the bus driver were taken to Genesis Medical Center - Silvis.  One student suffered a leg injury.  None of the other injuries were considered serious according to Genesis spokesman Craig Cooper. All 12 were released from the hospital before 3 p.m.

Hospital staff train for "patient surge" situations, Cooper said, and they were well-prepared to receive all of the patients from the crash.

The school district involved was contacting parents of children involved in the crash according to Illinois State Police trooper Jason Wilson.  The driver is also a teacher, later identified as a 42-year-old woman from Viola, Illinois.  She was cited for failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident, Wilson later said.

School bus overturns on Interstate 80

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