Overnight Greyhound Bus Reported Crash at Effingham

Emergency crews were called to what was reported as a Greyhound bus crash on the interstate outside Effingham early Saturday morning.

Illinois State Police report the incident occurred along I-57, just south of the south trilevel at Effingham. The bus' air conditioning system had problems. While the driver was trying to open the bus windows, the bus rolled into a ditch and suffered minor damage.

Effingham Fire Chief Bob Tutko said authorities were notified at 1:30am. The call came in as a Greyhound bus crash with injuries and the bus on fire. When crews reached the scene, all of the passengers were off the bus standing along the shoulder of the roadway. There was a small grass fire at the rear of the bus, caused by the heat from the vehicle exhaust system.

Three bus passengers suffered what were termed minor injuries. 

Emergency workers gathered the belongings and luggage for the 31 people aboard the bus. Livin It Up Transportation provided a bus to take the passengers to Pilot Truck Stop to wait for another Greyhound bus to take them to their destination in Mississippi. The bus had been traveling south from Chicago when the incident occurred.

Illinois State Police and Effingham City Police assisted Effingham Fire Department and Abbott EMS at the scene.