Three children and two adults were killed in a crash between a school bus and a lorry in Rushville, Illinois (Pictures: Facebook)
Five people who died in a fiery school bus and lorry crash have been identified, including two young siblings, a fellow student and both drivers.
The three children have been named as Andrew Miller, 3, and his sister Maria Miller, 5, and Noah Driscoll, 3, all from Rushville, said Illinois State Police. The school bus driver has been identified as Angela Spiker, 57, of Rushville, and the semitruck driver as David Coufal, 72, of Browning, Illinois.
Their autopsies are still pending in Springfield.
The bus was traveling eastbound on US Route 24 in Rushville on Monday morning when it crossed the center line into the westbound lanes ‘for an unknown reason’ and into the path of the lorry, police said. Both vehicles were ‘engulfed in flames’ after the collision.
Emergency personnel work the scene of a crash on Monday in Rushville, Illinois (Picture: AP)
Spiker’s brother, Scott Waterman, wrote on Facebook that his sister was driving the school bus.
‘Lord God, please be with my family tonight as we deal with a terrible tragedy. We lost my loving little sister today,’ wrote Waterman, according to the Daily Mail.
‘She was driving a small school bus and today she had 3 children on board for some reason she drifted into the lane of an oncoming semi and they hit head on. There were no survivors.’
Sarah Miller lost two of her children aged 3 and 5 (Picture: Sarah Miller/Facebook)
On Monday, Schuyler-Industry Schools announced that classes were canceled through Wednesday due to the tragedy and that counseling services would be offered.
‘It is with a heavy heart that we announce our school community has lost both staff and students in the traffic incident involving one of our school buses this morning,’ stated Schuyler-Industry Schools.
Life Family Church in Virginia, Illinois, started a fundraiser for the Miller family and asked community members to pray for the siblings’ mother, Sarah.
Maria Miller (left) and Andrew Miller (right) were among five who died in the fiery crash (Picture: Sarah Miller/Facebook)
‘It’s with great sadness that we have to bring this news to you today. Maria and Andrew Miller were in a fatal accident on their way to school,’ the church stated on social media.
Illinois State Police Director Brendan Kelly told the community of Rushville, which has a population of only about 3,000, to keep the victims’ families in their thoughts.
‘Today’s crash in Rushville is something no parent or family should have to face,’ stated Kelly on Monday. ‘Our hearts ache for the families involved and the community feeling this tragic loss.’
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