Minor injuries in school bus accident in rural Ogle County

Three minors were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries after a school bus carrying East Dubuque’s cross country team was in a single vehicle accident in rural Ogle County on Thursday evening according to a news release by the Ogle County Sheriff’s office.

At 6:12 p.m. deputies responded to Illinois 64 and Illinois 26 for a report of the crash.

The bus, driven by Melvin Ehrler, 74, of East Dubuque was traveling west on Illinois 64 and failed to stop at the stop sign at Illinois 26. The bus traveled approximately 423 feet into a grass field and came to a stop, the release said.

Polo Fire Chief Tony Karrow assisted at the scene and said the accident may have been caused by the sun being in the driver’s eyes.

“I’m assuming he ran the stop sign because he couldn’t see,” Karrow said. “It went through the Dogwood Inn lot and through a retention pond. It didn’t have water in it, though. It went down and up the bank on the other side. It stayed on its wheels. The shocks were broken by the crash. The bus was not driveable.”

Two of the injured people were transported to KSB Hospital in Dixon and the third was taken to CGH in Sterling. Eleven minors were on the bus, the release said. Parents picked up the rest of the uninjured children from the scene after they were checked by medical personnel. The bus was en route to East Dubuque after the team had a meet in Oregon.

Ehrler was issued citations for disregarding a traffic control device and failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident. Deputies were also o assisted at the scene by Polo Ambulance, Oregon Ambulance, Dixon Rural Ambulance, Mt. Morris Fire and Ambulance, Forreston Ambulance and the Illinois State Police.