5 Killed in Illinois School Bus Crash

Five people, including three children, were killed Monday after a school bus and semitruck collided on a highway in western Illinois, authorities said. The bus was traveling eastbound on Illinois Route 24 when it crossed the center line into the westbound lanes and the path of the semitruck. Both vehicles were set ablaze in the crash. The crash happened just before noon in Rushville, a community of about 3,000 about 60 miles west of Springfield, the AP reports.

Four people were aboard the school bus—three children and the driver. The driver of the semitruck was also killed. "There's not really words at this time that can be said," Schuyler County Sheriff Bill Redshaw said at a news conference. "When you have a loss of life like this, it's devastating." The cause of the crash remained under investigation Monday afternoon. The names of the victims have not yet been released. NPR Illinois reports that the children on the bus were pre-kindergarten.

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