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Staff report3:33 p.m. CDT, August 2, 2012
As many as 20 ambulances and four medical helicopters have been sent to the scene of crash this afternoon involving a double-decker Megabus bound from Chicago on Interstate 55, state police say.
State police say the bus, carrying 81 passengers, had a flat tire and lost control and hit an overpass pillar near Litchfield, about 60 miles north of St. Louis.
It was not known how many people were hurt or how badly. Television footage from the scene showed emergency vehicles surrounding the bus and crews on ladders reaching inside the smashed front end of the bus.
At least one person could be seen being wheeled on a stretcher to an ambulance, while others were being tended to along the roadside.
Sue Campbell with Memorial Hospital in Staunton said they were expecting between six and nine people, according to KMOV-TV in St. Louis. She said three had already arrived, but none of the injuries were considered life-threatening. Others were being transported to Springfield Hospital.
The Litchfield School District sent three school buses to transport uninjured people to the community center in Litchfield, which is about five miles away, the station said.I-55 was shut down in both directions from the Carlinville exit to the Litchfield exit.
The bus was on its way to St. Louis from Chicago, then was scheduled to head to Kansas City.
