Four dead in special needs bus crash

AP

PASSENGERS KILLED: At least four people have died after a tractor jackknifed into a bus on a snow-covered road.

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A tractor-trailer jackknifed on a snow-covered road in the US, swerved into oncoming traffic and collided with a small bus transporting disabled passengers, killing four people.

The tractor-trailer was heading west on Interstate 70 when it crossed the highway median and struck the bus and another vehicle heading the opposite way, Sgt Raymond Durant said.

There was snow on the roads when the crash occurred and it had been snowing steadily throughout the region all day.

Four people died, including the driver of the 17-passenger bus, Durant said. One person was in critical condition and six others suffered injuries and were transported to hospitals, he said. Durant said all were riding in the bus.

The bus was from the Creative Learning Workshop, a centre that provides vocational services to adults with mental and developmental disabilities. The centre is based in Warren, Ohio, but has locations across the state.

The accident occurred near Springfield in southwest Ohio.

Snow-slick roads caused several accidents throughout the day in the county where the crash occurred, said sheriff's dispatcher Vannessa Haley. The snow started falling at about 9am and grew heavier at about 12.45pm, when dispatchers received reports of the accident, Haley said.

"We had a lot of vehicles just generally going off the road," Haley said. "Most of which throughout the day weren't severe until we had this accident."

The highway patrol said the crash is still under investigation and would not say whether it was weather-related.

The condition of the injured passengers, taken to Springfield Regional Medical Centre, is not known.