At least two people were hospitalized Tuesday afternoon following a chain-reaction crash involving a school bus in northwest suburban Niles.
"It's like a war zone. You can see carnage from here about a half-mile down," said Park Ridge Deputy Police Chief Lou Jogmen.
Officials said they believe the female bus driver suffered some sort of medical emergency behind the wheel, causing her to head the wrong way on Oakton Street near Oriole Avenue at about 2:30 p.m.
The driver of a taxi said it seemed as though the bus driver was traveling about 70 mph. He tried hard to avoid to avoid the female but ended up being struck on the rear passenger side. Another car was pushed into a nearby home.
"The bus seemed to slow down a little bit but then it kept going. It just plowed right through. It hit the car in front of me and moved over and I thought it was going to stop and it didn't stop. It just kept plowing through," said witness Arnie Mandell.
There were no children on the school bus, said Jogmen.
Two people, along with the bus driver, were transported to a nearby hospital. Their injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Jogmen said.
