11 taken to hospitals after crash involving Aurora ambulance, van full of kids

Eleven people were taken to area hospitals after a crash around 4:10 p.m. Wednesday in Aurora involving a fire department ambulance and a minivan full of children, authorities said.

The area around Galena Boulevard and West Street is expected to be closed for at least four hours as police investigate. Traffic investigators are on the scene.

Police said the ambulance was carrying a patient and had its lights and sirens activated as it headed west on Galena when it struck a minivan heading south on West Street.

The two Aurora Fire Department parademics and the patient in the ambulance have been treated for injuries that are not life-threatening.

The police said eight passengers were in the minivan: a male driver born in 1995, a 27-year-old woman, twin 1-year-old boys, and four other children ages 4, 6, 12 and 13. The police believe that at least some of the passengers are related.

A 1-year-old boy and a 12-year-old boy have been taken to a Chicago hospital for serious head wounds.

The department said more information will be released when it is available.