A crash of a coach bus on I-94 late Saturday night sent 11 passengers and the bus driver to the hospital.
From the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Department:
On 01-24-15, at approximately 2338 hours, Kenosha County Sheriff’s Deputies with the assistance of Wisconsin State Patrol responded with the Bristol and Pleasant Prairie Fire Departments to a Commercial Coach Bus crash in the 7500 block of the southbound lanes of Interstate 94 in Kenosha County, WI. Rescue units from Pleasant Prairie, Bristol, Salem, City of Kenosha, Silver Lake, Somers and Newport (IL) responded as well. At the time of the crash, the bus was traveling southbound on Interstate 94 returning from Milwaukee, WI en route to the Chicago, IL area. The bus had 34 adult passengers on board at the time of the crash. The bus, a “Blue Bus Lines Charters and Tour” (Coach Style) commercial bus, was traveling at approximately 60 miles per hour, southbound on Interstate 94, when the driver of the bus had an apparent medical emergency and collapsed. The bus drifted into the western concrete wall along the right shoulder of Interstate 94 striking the wall approximately 2 to 3 times before coming to rest. No other vehicles were involved and the bus did not overturn. A bus passenger was able to gain control of the bus after realizing the driver was no longer in the driver’s seat. The passenger stopped the bus in approximately the 8200 block of Interstate 94 southbound lanes. The driver of the bus, identified as 68-year old James E. Rogers of Chicago, IL, was transported to Aurora Hospital in Kenosha where he was admitted. Rogers was cooperative with the investigation and was not ticketed. Eleven of the 34 adult passengers were also transported to three Kenosha area hospitals for non-life threatening injuries. Four passengers were transported to Aurora Hospital, four passengers were transported to St. Catherine’s Hospital, and three were taken to Kenosha Hospital. The Interstate was not shut down as a result of the crash. The bus sustained minor damage to the passenger side and the crash was not weather related. Neither alcohol nor speed appear to be factors in this crash. The cause of the crash is still under investigation.
An incredible job by the passenger to stop the moving bus and minimize any further injuries or deaths. Care to guess which responding unit was NOT a paramedic staffed ambulance? You responders all know the answer to that one!
A nice job to ALL of the responding agencies under some pretty difficult circumstances!