HIGHLAND, Ill. – The deadly mass casualty crash on Interstate 70 east of St. Louis could have and should have been prevented, according to St. Louis area Congressman Mike Bost.
His district borders the crash scene near Highland, Illinois, about 35 miles from downtown St. Louis.
“There are not enough areas, safe areas, for our commercial drivers to pull into (for rest),” Bost said.
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that rest area safety and a lack of available parking for commercial trucks were potential contributing factors to the crash. It was around 2:00 a.m. Wednesday when a Greyhound bus headed from Indianapolis to St. Louis crashed into three semi-trucks parked on the shoulder of the Silver Lake Rest Area entrance, killing three and injuring 14.
Truck drivers commonly park in such spots to get their federally mandated rest when all the rest area parking spots were full.
“Everyone is in danger when you are not safely parking these vehicles because there’s not enough space,” Bost said.
He’s a former semi-truck driver. His family is still in the trucking business. Bost introduced the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act in March. It would earmark $755 million over the next three years to add rest areas and parking spots for commercial truck drivers nationwide.
“The most important thing we’ve been doing over the years that I’ve been here is, trying to make sure we pass a bill that allows opportunities for creating new parking spots for trucks that are not alongside the highway, that expands existing rest areas so that they’re not so overcrowded that you’ve got exactly what we had in this accident,” Bost said.
Investigators have yet to determine what caused the accident, but the crash could not have happened if the trucks were not there.
A U.S. Department of Transportation report lists Illinois as one of the top five states in America singled out by drivers for its lack of commercial truck parking.
“The reason that we are focusing on this particular crash relates, in part, to those very issues that you raised,” said Tom Chapman with NTSB. “It’s certainly one of the things we’ll be looking at closely. If recommendations are appropriate, we won’t hesitate to make them.”
IDOT has plans to add 30 to 40 commercial parking spots each at rest areas north of Springfield, Litchfield, and near Metropolis next year, but not Silver Lake.
Bost said America needs action on a massive scale; it couldn’t be more obvious or closer to home.
“It’s so tragic that this has occurred. We’ve been working on this bill for nine years now,” he said. “I’m praying for the families: the people who lost their lives, the others who are injured.”
Congresswoman Mary Miller, whose district includes the crash scene issued the following statement:
Our hearts were heavy as we learned about the tragic motor vehicle accident that took place in Highland, Illinois. Chris and I would like to extend our deepest condolences to the families and friends who have been affected by this devastating event. It is a stark reminder of the urgent need to prioritize the safety and well-being of our truckers on the roads. We need to ensure that truckers have access to safe and accessible rest areas where they can get the rest they need without compromising their own well-being or the safety of others on the road. Please join me and my family in praying for all those affected by this tragedy.
According to Chapman, it could be a year or two before the NTSB issues a final report on the crash though emergency recommendations were a possibility.