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On Wednesday, a Greyhound bus crash in southern Illinois resulted in the death of three passengers. Federal investigators are now working to determine the cause of the accident. The crash occurred just before 2 a.m. when the bus, carrying a driver and 22 passengers, collided with three tractor-trailers parked along an Interstate 70 exit ramp near St. Louis.
The three individuals who lost their lives in the accident have been identified as Juan Vasquez-Rodriguez, 34, of Passaic, New Jersey; Buford Paya, 71, of Supai, Arizona; and Bradley Donovan, 47, of Springfield, Illinois. Preliminary findings from the Madison County Coroner indicate that all three men died of blunt trauma.
The bus was en route from Indianapolis to St. Louis, but it remains unclear why it was on the exit ramp that leads to a rest area near Highland, Illinois, around 25 miles short of its destination. Fortunately, no one in the parked trucks was injured.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) will be analyzing the video footage from the bus’s inward and outward-facing cameras to aid in their investigation. The NTSB team is expected to spend up to six days on-site, and they will also be examining the presence of the parked trucks on the ramp.
Parking spots in public rest areas are often limited, which leads truckers to park along exit ramps at night. Though this practice is illegal in Illinois and many other states, police often turn a blind eye due to the shortage of overnight truck parking.
Photos and videos from the scene of the crash show the severe damage to the bus. Passenger Edwin Brown, 22, recalled feeling the bus shake as it passed over rumble strips before the side of the vehicle “opened up like a can opener.”
The bus driver is in serious condition and has been hospitalized. The Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents Greyhound drivers, shared this information through a Facebook post.
The families of the victims are now seeking financial assistance to transport Vasquez-Rodriguez’s body to Peru. A GoFundMe page has been set up to help alleviate some of the burden for the family during this difficult time..
