Megabus from Chicago crashes south of Indianapolis; 19 injured

Nineteen people were injured Monday when a Megabus headed from Chicago to Atlanta crashed into three other vehicles, including a semi truck, near Indianapolis.

The bus caused a chain-reaction crash after rear-ending the semi about 5:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes of Interstate 65 near Edinburgh, Ind., according to Indiana State Police. Edinburgh is about 33 miles southeast of Indianapolis.

Ongoing construction on I-65 had slowed traffic as construction vehicles were moving from the right lane to the median, police said. That caused traffic to stop north of the construction site.

“For unknown reasons [the bus driver] failed to stop before the front of the bus collided with the rear of a semi-tractor trailer stopped in the left lane,” police said.

The impact caused the semi, driven by a California man, to hit a 2003 Chevrolet SUV, which was pushed into a 1999 Nissan, police said. The drivers of those vehicles were both Indianapolis residents.

Both the Megabus and semi sustained “substantial” damage, and all vehicles involved had to be towed, police said.

It is the fourth crash involving a Megabus in Indiana since October.

“The glass was everywhere. My seat cushion threw me three seats to the front,” passenger Vanessa Simmons told Indianapolis television station WRTV.

Nineteen of the 63 passengers on the Megabus were taken to hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries, police said. Among the 19 was one child, who was taken to a hospital for a checkup, police said.

None of the other drivers was injured.

The city of Indianapolis provided two IndyGo buses to take uninjured passengers to a safe location off the interstate, police said.

The driver of the bus, 50-year-old Kimberly Lane of Dolton, took a breath test and did not test positive for alcohol. Police did not say whether she’s facing charges or citations.

The bus will undergo an inspection this week to determine if mechanical problems led to the crash, police said.

“Safety is our No. 1 priority, and Megabus is fully cooperating with the authorities with their investigation into the incident,” Megabus spokesman Sean Hughes said.

Contributing: Associated Press; Ashlee Rezin, Jordan Owen

A wrecked Megabus is at the scene of a four-vehicle crash on southbound Interstate 65 near Edinburgh, Ind., on Monday. | Scott Roberson/The Daily Journal via the Associated Press

Megabus passengers wait along southbound Interstate 65 for transportation away from the crash scene after a Megabus was involved in a four-vehicle crash on Monday. | Scott Roberson/The Daily Journal via the Associated Press

One of the two drivers of a Megabus involved in a four-vehicle crash on Monday sits near the bus along I-65 after the accident near Edinburgh, about 35 miles south of Indianapolis. | Scott Roberson/The Daily Journal via the Associated Press

Megabus passengers board a pair of IndyGo buses to be taken to Indianapolis after a Megabus was involved in a four-vehicle crash on I-65 south of Indianapolis on Monday. | Scott Roberson/The Daily Journal via the Associated Press