Two school buses collide in Des Plaines, minor injuries reported

Two school buses carrying children from a Des Plaines Park District day camp bumped into each other Friday morning, causing minor injuries and damages, according to park district officials.

Des Plaines Park District Executive Director John Hecker said the accident occurred around 10 a.m. near the intersection of Touhy Avenue and Lee Street.

He said the buses — which were carrying a total of 73 children and 12 adults, including the drivers — were traveling 15 to 20 miles per hour when one bumped into the other.

It appears a vehicle may have cut in front of the lead bus, causing it to brake, Hecker said, but the park district is waiting for a police report with more details.

Hecker said seven children were transported to multiple hospitals with injuries that paramedics characterized as minor. Those injuries included a nose bleed, a bump on the knee and chest pain.

The hospitals the children were transported to included the Alexian Brothers Medical Center in Elk Grove Village, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge and Resurrection Hospital in Chicago.

Gene Haring, marketing and communications manager for the Des Plaines Park District, said the day camp, called Camp Chickagami, is a five day a week camp for children ages 6 to 14. He said the campers were en route to Glencoe Beach for a field trip when the accident occurred.

Haring said the park district rented the buses and they were being driven by park district personnel

All the children's parents have been notified of the accident, Hecker said, and the children who weren't transported to a hospital are continuing camp programing.