A crash involving a bus sent at least 11 people to hospitals Sunday evening on Chicago's Near North Side, striking near the intersection of East Huron Street and North Michigan Avenue around 5:30 p.m. Chicago Fire Department officials said the conditions of those hurt were not immediately known, and no further details were available in the immediate aftermath.
The crash was reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. Northwestern Memorial Hospital is located at 251 East Huron Street, according to Northwestern Medicine, which describes the Streeterville facility.
Emergency Response
As described by WTTW News, Chicago Fire Department EMS Plan 1 is a mass-casualty triage system designed to help crews sort and distribute patients across the region's emergency rooms.
It is not yet known from official reporting how the injuries were divided between bus passengers and occupants of other vehicles, nor whether the bus involved was a CTA municipal vehicle or a private charter. Chicago Police have not been reported as having issued citations or filed criminal charges in connection with the crash.
A Corridor With a Troubled History
North Michigan Avenue through the Magnificent Mile is considered one of the city's most crash-prone thoroughfares, according to Horwitz, Horwitz & Associates, which points to the overlap of cars, buses, cyclists and pedestrians along the corridor. That mix can create complicated right-of-way situations up and down the avenue.
Sunday's crash follows a string of bus-involved collisions across Chicago in recent weeks. Hoodline reported on a CTA bus crash near Interstate 290 in West Garfield Park on August 31 that sent seven people to hospitals and also triggered an EMS Plan 1 dispatch.
What Happens If a CTA Bus Was Involved
Illinois courts treat the Chicago Transit Authority as a common carrier, a designation that holds its bus drivers to an elevated legal duty of care for passenger safety, according to Walner Law. That same common carrier status excludes the agency from some of the broader tort immunities that shield other municipal bodies in negligence cases.
If a CTA bus turns out to have been involved, anyone injured would face a notably tight legal clock. Under Section 41 of the Metropolitan Transit Authority Act, personal injury claims against the CTA must be filed within one year, according to DeSalvo Law.
