7 Die, 60 Hurt as Car Cuts in Front of Bus in Chicago

A city bus rammed into a car that swerved in front of it at a busy lakefront intersection Friday, killing seven persons in the car and injuring 60 on the bus, authorities said.

The seven killed reportedly were heading for a Bruce Springsteen concert at Soldier Field, about a mile away.

“The car cut in front of the bus,” said Michael Kegle, a passenger on the bus. “It was trying to get off at an exit and it cut the bus off.”

The bus rolled over onto the car, a Cadillac, crushing it.

A crane was used to lift the bus off the car, said Jim Morrison, a Fire Department spokesman, and iron workers from a nearby construction project helped rescue workers move the bus.

The car’s vinyl top was crushed into the seats from the weight of the bus. Rescue workers trying to free the victims inside had to use an electric saw to cut the top away and pull it back like lid of a can. A cooler containing chicken and soft drinks was found in the car.

At least 10 ambulances were called to the scene, Morrison said. Some stunned victims sat on the grass near Lake Michigan while rescue workers tried to free victims inside the car. All the car’s occupants were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Officials did not immediately release the names of those killed.

Eight hospitals reported treating 23 persons.

About a mile away, 17,000 fans were lined up to attend the Springsteen concert at Soldier Field. The crowd tied up traffic for several miles but did not hinder emergency vehicles, Morrison said.

Bill Baxa, a spokesman for the Chicago Transit Authority, said the accident occurred when the bus traveling south on Lake Shore Drive struck the auto near McCormick Place and the Stevenson Expressway ramp.

Darlene Knox, 34, a passenger on the bus, said she thought that the car was trying to move into the left lane in front of the bus when the bus rode up over the car.

A medical team was dispatched to the scene by helicopter, said Curt Thompson, a spokesman for Northwestern Memorial Hospital.