By Beth Hundsdorfer
BND
O’FALLON, Ill. — A bus loaded with federal prisoners crashed on Interstate 64 early Sunday morning, injuring guards and inmates.
All 13 passengers in the bus, including nine prisoners, were injured in the crash, according to Illinois State Trooper Calvin Dye. None of the injuries was life threatening.
The bus, operated by a private company and contracted to move federal prisoners, was traveling west on Interstate 64 about 5:15 a.m. Sunday when the driver lost control, according to Dye. The bus left the road and struck a concrete pillar of the overpass for Illinois 158 near O’Fallon. The bus turned over unto its left side, leaving the occupants trapped inside in the center median of the interstate.
The driver of the bus, prison guard Jose D. Fuentes, was seriously injured in the crash. Fuentes, 29, was taken for treatment at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. The other three prison guards were transported to Memorial Hospital in Belleville for treatment.
Five federal inmates were seriously injured and transported to Barnes Hospital. Police are guarding the inmates at the hospital.
Full story: Bus carrying prisoners crashes on I-64; inmates, guards injured