Driver of second car caught after U46 bus flips in accident
By Emily McFarlan Miller emcfarlan@stmedianetwork.com August 30, 2012 10:40AM
A school district U46 bus rolled over in an accident on Route 20 near Oak Avenue in Bartlett on August 30, 2012. | Katherine Peters~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: October 1, 2012 5:46PM
BARTLETT — Bartlett police arrested a driver after his vehicle allegedly caused a School District U46 bus to roll over Thursday morning and he fled on foot, prompting several nearby schools to be secured for a time, police said.
No students were on the bus at the time of the accident, at about 8:55 a.m. on Route 20 near Oak Avenue, according to the Elgin school district. The bus rolled onto its side, crashing into a fence in The Oaks neighborhood.
The bus driver was taken to St. Alexius Medical Center in Hoffman Estates with a head injury, according to a U46 spokesman. The driver’s identity and condition had not been made available Thursday evening.
Meanwhile, the driver of the second vehicle fled the scene on foot, authorities said, and U46 and Bartlett Police Department placed nearby schools in “secure building” status as a precaution for several hours while they searched for that person. That meant school activities continued as normal, but movement in and out of the buildings was limited.
Affected schools included Independence Center for Early Learning, Bartlett Elementary School and Eastview Middle School, the district said.
U46 updated parents on the secure-building situation through its phone and email messaging systems and Facebook group, and U46 Safety Coordinator John Heiderscheidt stressed Thursday morning, “There is no risk at school right now.”
“The guy they’re chasing isn’t wanted for hurting people. He’s running away from a traffic crash.”
The secure-building action was lifted at 12:15 p.m., after police alerted U46 they had apprehended the second driver, according to district spokesman Patrick Mogge.
Bartlett police had not yet released details about the crash or the driver of the second vehicle Thursday night.
Early, unconfirmed reports from the scene suggested the other vehicle may have been going in the opposite direction of the bus and had gone into the oncoming lanes. The bus reportedly flipped after the driver took action to avoid a head-on collision.
