Three passengers on a Greyhound bus were killed and more than a dozen more were injured early Wednesday morning when the bus struck three tractor-trailers parked on an off-ramp of a rest area on Interstate 70 in Illinois.
A statement from the Illinois State Police said the collision occurred at about 1:54 a.m. at the Silver Lake Rest Area at westbound mile marker 27 near Highland, Illinois.
ISP's statement said, "Initial investigation indicates a Greyhound passenger bus with passengers was traveling westbound on Interstate 70 and struck three commercial motor vehicles parked on the exit ramp to the Silver Lake Interstate 70 westbound rest area. Three fatalities are confirmed and multiple others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, four by helicopter and at least 10 by ambulance. No one in the commercial motor vehicles was injured."
A trucker in one of the tractor-trailers struck by the bus wound up helping injured passengers off the bus.
The bus was traveling from Indianapolis to St. Louis at the time of the crash.
Both westbound lanes of I-70 were closed until about 8:30 a.m. Wednesday. The rest area ramp reopened at about 9:50 a.m.
The National Traffic Safety Board is expected to investigate.
