April 19, 2010
Nine elementary students were taken to hospitals after a school bus driver lost control, sending the bus into a ditch Monday morning in southwest suburban Joliet.
About 7:25 a.m, Illinois State Police responded to a crash on Route 53 near Zarley Road involving a school bus, which was en route to Laraway Elementary School in Joliet, according to a release from ISP.
Of the 29 students on the bus, nine were taken to Silver Cross Hospital in Joliet with non-life-threatening injuries, the release said. The driver, 63-year-old Jeffrey Baranski, was also hospitalized with facial injuries.
While traveling north on Route 53, Baranski was attempting to turn the bus around to travel south when he initiated his legal turn and, in the process, lost control of the bus, which entered a ditch in the center median, the release said.
Upon impact, all occupants were thrown forward, with several suffering neck and back soreness, as well as bruising, the release said.
Baranski was cited by State Police for failing to reduce speed to avoid a crash and failure to wear a seatbelt, the release said. There was no indication that alcohol was a factor in the crash.
Joliet firefighters and police assisted at the scene, while ISP Commercial Vehicle Enforcement officers were sent to investigate the bus.