2 Killed In Crash Involving School Bus, Vehicle: Cops

ST. CHARLES, IL – Two Campton Hills residents were killed and two others were seriously injured Monday afternoon when a vehicle hit the back of a school bus carrying 24 students from a local elementary school, Kane County authorities said.

Sheriff Ron Hain said that two people in a 2013 Lexus SUV were killed in the crash, which took place around 3:45 p.m. on Monday on Empire Road at the intersection of Kingswood Drive between Burlington Road and Route 47 in unincorporated St. Charles.

One passenger, a 20-year-old female who was a front-seat passenger in the vehicle, died as did a 19-year-old male who was a passenger in the back seat, police said on Monday night. The driver of the vehicle, an 18-year-old man from Elgin, and a 17-year-old South Elgin girl were taken to the hospital after the crash.

Both of those killed were graduates of Burlington Central High School, police said in a news release.

Hain said that two other people in the SUV were taken to a local hospital following the crash, in which police said the vehicle and the bus were traveling east on Empire Road. Hain said that it appears the SUV made no effort to slow down and struck the back of the bus, which was transporting students home from Lily Lake Grade School.

Police said Monday night that the bus was coming to a stop to drop off a student when the SUV struck the bus from behind. No one on the bus was injured, Hain said, including the 64-year-old bus driver.

The two injured people were taken to Delnor Hospital for treatment, police said. The 17-year-old passenger was then airlifted to Chicago for treatment for life-threatening injuries, police said. The driver's injuries were not life-threatening.

The other two people in the vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene. The Kane County Coroner is expected to release the identities of the two people killed once autopsies are compete, police said Monday night.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Hain said that Burlington District 301 officials were on the scene of the crash. Trauma care will be provided for district students over the next few days, Hain said.

Police said they are working to determine if speed, distracted driving, or drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash and said Monday night that they have no timeline for wrapping up their investigation. Authorities said they do not plan on announcing any further information until their inquiry into the crash is complete.