HIGHLAND, Ill. – The ramp on westbound Interstate 70 heading to Silver Lake Rest Area now sits with pieces of glass, metal, and broken signage.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) open an investigation into what led a Greyhound Bus to hit three semis, killing three and injuring at least 14 people.
It was a horrific 2 a.m. wake-up call for a bus filled with people and three semi-trucks parked on the shoulder of I-70 at the Silver Lake Rest Area.
“It was bad. The right side was destroyed, it was gone. My concern was to see how to get the people out,” said David Cherno, one of the big rig drivers that was struck. “I turned the bus off, so it would not catch fire. I wanted to see if anybody was hurt. I got to get them out of there.”
“Our investigation is a safety investigation intended to determine the probable cause of this accident,” said Tom Chapman, a board member for NTSB.
“Apparently, all were occupants of the bus,” he continued.
Greyhound has confirmed the driver and several passengers were taken to the hospital. They have not disclosed what caused the deadly crash.
“We will have specialists from our office and transportation disaster division on scene,” Chapman said.
A truck driver was at the rest area on Wednesday and said part of the problem is a lack of places to pull off and rest.
“I don’t feel safe sleeping on the side of the road,” said Mannotis Dunn, a long-time truck driver.”
Both state and local enforcement are not saying much about this case. As the federal government promptly steps in this investigation, they said they are also going to be looking into rest area safety.
For now, Chapman said he is praying for those who lost someone just a few miles away from their intended destination.
“I would like to extend our most sincere condolences to the survivors, and to the families and friends of the victims of this tragedy,” he said.
NTSB officials said they will have crews out to investigate the scene Thursday.