A Greyhound bus crashed into three commercial motor vehicles early Wednesday on a highway in Southern Illinois, state police have announced.
Three people were killed, and 14 others were injured in the incident.
The crash happened along the westbound lanes of Interstate 70 in Madison County at 1:55am local time when the Greyhound crashed into three parked commercial vehicles on the exit ramp of a rest stop.
"Three fatalities are confirmed and multiple others were taken to a hospital with serious injuries, four by helicopter and at least 10 by ambulance," state police said in a news release.
All the deaths injuries were from passengers on the Greyhound, said State Police spokesperson Melaney Arnold. It's unclear what the fate of the bus's driver is.
The commercial vehicles involved were semi tractor-trailers, she said, and no one from those vehicles was injured.
The incident closed westbound traffic on I-70. It happened near the Silver Lake Rest Area near Highland, which is about 25 miles (40 km) east of St. Louis, Missouri.
The passengers on the bus had been traveling from Indianapolis, Indiana, to St. Louis, reported Amelia Mugavero of Fox2now and KPLR11.
Harrowing pictures show half the bus missing after the ordeal.
Some of the injuries from the crash were serious, the Illinois State Police tweeted. The status of those taken to local hospitals is yet unknown.
As of around 7:30am local time, there were still highway closures around the scene of the crash, according to the Illinois Department of Transportation.
"First responders are beginning to clear the the scene, but due to size of vehicles and equipment involved, intermittent closures will be needed over next few hours to safely complete these efforts," the government organisation tweeted.
Delays can be expected for the next several hours, Mugavero tweeted.
Additional information has yet to be released about the incident.
Wednesday morning's crash isn't the only bus-related incident in recent months.
A bus slammed into an apartment building in Baltimore in mid-June, leaving 17 people injured. The incident was declared a mass casualty event.
The building was evacuated over structural concerns, and the first floor was ultimately condemned.
Debris could be seen strewn across the road as authorities worked the scene.
Two of those injured were in critical condition following the accident.
The bus reportedly swerved into a Lexus, then a Nissan before it hit the building.
