A motorist attempting an illegal U-turn collided with an IPS school bus on I-70 Tuesday, causing a wreck that closed the westbound lanes and snarled traffic for about an hour, police said.
All three children on the bus and two adults in the car were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries in the 3 p.m. crash between the bus and a 1995 Oldsmobile passenger car on I-70 west of the Keystone Avenue exit, 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said in a statement.
Two more adults, the bus driver and a bus attendant, were taken to the hospital to be checked out, Bursten said.
The driver of the Oldsmobile, Richard L. Cash, 58, Indianapolis, stopped the car halfway off the far right lane of westbound I-70, Bursten said, then suddenly steered left and drove across several lanes and into the path of the oncoming bus.
The bus driver could not avoid the collision, Bursten said.
Police ticketed Cash for improper U-turn and unsafe lane movement.
Cash and his passenger, Tanya Lance, 37, Indianapolis, were treated at Wishard Memorial Hospital with non-life threatening injuries, Bursten said.
Bus driver Olga Collins, 59, and attendant Lorine DeBow, 67, were both transported to Methodist Hospital to be checked out, Bursten said.
Three elementary school age children on the bus — two girls and a boy — complained of pain were transported to Methodist, Bursten said. Police did not release their names.
Three lanes of I-70 were reopened by 3:30 p.m. and all lanes were opened by 4:00 p.m., Bursten said.
