Train strikes stalled school bus in Orland Park, no one injured

No injuries were reported when a school bus was struck by a train minutes after it stalled on train tracks in south suburban Orland Park Friday afternoon.

All the children had left the bus before a Metra train hit the front of it, Orland Park spokesman Ray Hanania said in a statement.

Fire Chief Michael Schofield said the bus driver’s “fast action” prevented injuries from the crash, which occurred around 2:40 p.m. at 167th and 109th Avenue.

“The driver stopped at the tracks as required to do so, but when she started the bus to cross, the bus stalled with the front end of the bus over the tracks,” Schofield said in the statement.

The gate came down on top of the bus and the driver escorted five children off the bus minutes before the train hit the front of the bus, Schofield said.

In 1995, seven teenagers died after a Metra train hit the back of a school bus carrying students to Cary-Grove High School in Fox River Grove. The bus driver and 24 other passengers were injured.