1 Dead, 4 Injured in Stevenson Expressway Charter Bus Crash

By Mae Rice in News on Dec 28, 2015 6:21PM

A charter bus crash on the South Side’s Stevenson Expressway killed one woman and injured several other passengers just before 7 a.m. on Monday morning.

Nicole M. Underwood, a 21-year-old from Des Moines, Iowa, was critically injured in the crash, and pronounced dead when she arrived at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Sun-Times.

Four other passengers with less serious injuries were taken to hospitals, too, on a 33-passenger bus ride en route from Omaha to downtown Chicago, Illinois State Police told reporters.

According to a company statement, Burlington Trailways is “deeply saddened” by Underwood’s death. The company also shared their account of the accident:

The onboard GPS system which is monitored by company officials in West Burlington, Iowa showed the bus was traveling at 49 miles per hour, in a posted 55 miles per hour zone. The bus driver told Chicago Police he took evasive action to avoid a pick-up truck that encroached into his lane. The bus was in the far right lane, getting ready to exit and the bus driver says the pick-up, in the center lane, veered into the right lane.

State police and the Burlington Trailways are both investigating the crash. As part of the company’s investigation, the driver will now undergo a “routine drug test,” the Burlington Trailways said.