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3 Clearbrook staffers hurt in rollover bus crash in Rolling Meadows

Three Clearbook staff members were injured when two buses crashed into one another at Kirchoff and Hicks roads in Rolling Meadows on Friday morning.

One bus was overturned and the other was up on the curb, but no clients from the Arlington Heights-based nonprofit, which provides services for adults and children with intellectual or developmental disabilities, were injured in the crash.

The accident happened just after 9 a.m., said Rolling Meadows Police Chief Dave Scanlan. The driver and a passenger from the overturned bus, as well as a staff member from the second bus, were all taken to Northwest Community Hospital with minor injuries, Scanlan said.

Both buses were traveling between Clearbrook sites, said Shiela Lullo, vice president of adult services at Clearbrook, but she said she doesn't know what caused the crash.

The overturned bus had two staff members and was on the way to pick clients up, she said. The other bus had a staff member and six clients - all adults - on board

One bus was traveling between Clearbrook's Schaumburg and Rolling Meadows locations, while the other was between the Palatine and Arlington Heights locations, she said. It was a "weird" coincidence, she said, that the two vehicles involved in the crash were both Clearbrook buses.

"We know one vehicle hit the other; that's all we know," Lullo said. Police are still investigating the cause of the accident.

The intersection was closed down for a few hours on Friday morning while police and fire officials cleaned up the scene.

Families of all clients and employees were notified of the crash. Lullo said Clearbrook will likely do an internal review of the crash but is deferring to police to complete its investigation first.

Based in Arlington Heights, Clearbrook provides services, programs and support for children and adults with autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy and other intellectual/developmental disabilities, serving nearly 6,000 individuals and their families each year.

"It was a pretty scary scene," Lullo said. "We are very fortunate that the individuals we serve were not injured and that the staff appear to not have serious injuries."

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