​​​This information is preliminary and subject to change. Release date: 2 August 2023​

​​On Wednesday, July 12, 2023, about 1:48 a.m. central daylight time, a 2014 Prevost 50-passenger motorcoach with 21 occupants was westbound on Interstate 70 (I-70), near Highland, Madison County, Illinois. The motorcoach was owned and operated by Greyhound Lines, Inc., and was on a scheduled route (route number 1675) from Indianapolis, Indiana, to St. Louis, Missouri. As the motorcoach approached the westbound Silver Lake rest area near mile marker 27.4, the motorcoach departed I-70 onto the rest area exit ramp, where it collided with three truck-tractor semi-trailer combination units that were parked on the ramp’s right shoulder (see figure 1). As a result, three motorcoach passengers were fatally injured. The driver and remaining motorcoach passengers sustained injuries ranging from minor to serious. The three tractor-trailer drivers, who were inside the combination vehicles at the time of the crash, were uninjured.

At the crash location, I-70 is a four-lane divided highway with the eastbound and westbound lanes separated by a depressed earthen median. The posted speed limit on I-70 is 70 mph, and the exit ramp had a posted advisory speed limit of 40 mph.

The westbound Silver Lake rest area was constructed in 1973 and had a total of 64 designated parking spaces. Of these, 21 were designated as commercial truck parking spaces, with one of those being a commercial truck handicap space. 

Parties to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigation are: ​

• ​Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration
• Illinois State Police
• Illinois Department of Transportation
• Highland-Pierron Fire Protection District​
  
• City of Highland Fire Department
• Greyhound Lines, Inc.

All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar events.   

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