11 children taken to hospitals after 3 school buses crash in Will County, police say

Eleven children were transported to the hospital after three school buses from Reed-Custer Schools were involved in a crash Tuesday morning on I-55 in the Chicago suburbs, according to Illinois State Police. 

A multi-unit crash involving the buses happened around 8:35 a.m. at I-55 northbound at milepost 246 in Will County, police said Tuesday afternoon. Officials had initially reported the crash occurring in Grundy County.

The buses were traveling northbound in the right line when traffic slowed to a stop, police said. One bus was unable to stop in time and struck the back of another bus, which then struck the rear of the third.

No other vehicles were involved in the crash, police said. Eleven children were transported to local hospitals with minor injuries, police said. 

The Braidwood Police Department said the rest of the children were returned to Reed-Custer Middle School in Braidwood while state police investigate the crash.

All lanes of traffic were reopened by Tuesday afternoon, police said. The driver of the bus that didn’t stop in time was cited for “failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash.”

rjohnson@chicagotribune.com