Schaumburg Christian School's volleyball team released from hospital

All of the people affiliated with the Schaumburg Christian School's girls volleyball team have been released from the hospital after their bus filled with carbon monoxide Sunday afternoon.

The bus was headed to a camp in Watertown, Wis., when six high school girls and three adults became sick with carbon monoxide poisoning, said Janesville Fire Commander Tim Ehlers.

The nine were first taken to a local hospital in Janesville. But two of the high school girls and the assistant coach had the most serious symptoms and were later flown by helicopter to Aurora St. Luke's Medical Center in Milwaukee for treatment in an oxygen-rich hyperbaric chamber, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Melissa Whiddon, 17, of Streamwood was one of the three flown to St. Luke's. She was released Sunday.

"She's practically herself now," her mother Carol said Monday. "We thank God for that."

According to a Janesville police report, an officer arriving on the scene found three females lying on the side of the road, apparently unconscious.

The report said the bus driver told police the group left Bethel Baptist Church, which runs Schaumburg Christian and owns the bus, at about 2:30 p.m. He said two people complained of headaches as the bus reached the Rockford area.

One of the teens, a 16-year-old from Elgin, said her headache felt like "a balloon inside of her head and that her ears were popping," the report said.

Around 4:20 p.m., the assistant coach stood up feeling lightheaded and passed out onto the floor. Another girl also lost consciousness, the report said. It was then that the bus driver pulled over and called for help.

Authorities said a faulty exhaust system on the 21-seat, Ford F-150 bus was to blame. A Wisconsin state patrol inspector found the two exhaust pipes were not connected and were blowing exhaust into the cabin. The air-conditioning was on and the windows closed, the bus driver told police.

Two of the females were released Sunday after their first oxygen treatment. A third was released Monday afternoon after a second treatment, the hospital said. One of St. Luke's two hyperbaric chambers can fit multiple people, so all three victims could be treated immediately.

Schaumburg Christian School administrator James White said all but the last girl to be released had returned home. Four teammates planned on heading back up to the volleyball camp, but they wouldn't be traveling on a church bus, he said.

"As a ministry our hearts and prayers are with each individual and their families," White said in a statement. "We are thankful to God that He was watching over them throughout the whole situation."

Passengers on the bus were from Schaumburg, Streamwood, Elgin, Hanover Park and Addison.