Blown Tire of Megabus Likely Cause for Death in Illinois Bus Crash

 Posted on September 20, 2012 in Personal Injury

A blown tire likely caused a double-decker bus to lurch out of control and strike a bridge pillar in the grassy median of an interstate highway, killing one passenger and injuring nearly four dozen others, an Illinois State Police investigator said Friday. A fully packed Megabus crashed head-on into the concrete pillar Thursday afternoon on Interstate 55 near Litchfield, Ill., about 55 miles northeast of St. Louis. The front of the bus was so mangled rescuers had to use ladders to pull people out windows of the upper level. Passengers gave harrowing accounts of the wreck: People screaming, blood in the aisles, injured passengers tossed about. Several reported hearing a tire blow out just before the crash, and Illinois State Police Lt. Louis Kink said that likely was the cause. "You figure at 65 mph, it would be hard to control a vehicle that big with a blown tire," Kink said. Illinois State Police have identified a native of India as the person who died in the crash of a double-decker Megabus crash that also sent dozens to hospitals. Tropper Brad Lemarr says the passenger confirmed dead is 24-year-old Aditi R. Avhad. He says she is from India and was headed to Columbia, Mo., but he didn't know where she was currently living or from where she was traveling. Earlier Thursday, Trooper Doug Francis said 38 people were taken to hospitals for injuries following the Thursday afternoon crash on Interstate 55 near Litchfield. Of those, 33 were taken by ambulance to hospitals, two were flown by helicopter to St. Louis hospitals and three were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Springfield. If you have experienced injuries due to the negligence of another driver, you may be entitled to compensation proportionate to your suffering. Please contact a knowledgeable personal injury attorney in DuPage County to maximize your possible benefits.