A 14-year-old Stevenson High School student was hospitalized Thursday evening after he slipped and slid underneath a moving school bus while trying to catch it, with the vehicle running over his legs near the rear passenger-side wheels. Police said the teen was conscious and breathing when first responders arrived, and he was rushed to the hospital with injuries initially believed to be non-life-threatening.
The incident unfolded around 5:30 p.m. on October 15 on the east side of the Lincolnshire campus, according to Arlington Cardinal. The student was running toward the bus as it moved when he lost his footing and went under near the back wheels on the passenger side, the Daily Herald reported, citing police. The bus then ran over his legs, officers said.
Paramedics treated the teen at the scene before transporting him to Advocate Condell Medical Center, a Level 1 trauma center in Libertyville, per the same account from Arlington Cardinal. As of Friday evening, his condition had not been made available, the Daily Herald reported, and NBC Chicago confirmed Lincolnshire police described the hospitalization as the result of the teen slipping and falling while chasing the moving bus.
Police Still Gathering Details
Lincolnshire police are continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the crash and are collecting additional information, according to the Daily Herald's report. The dossier of public reporting does not identify the student by name, specify the bus driver, clarify whether the bus was moving or stopped at every stage of the incident, or confirm whether the bus was operated by the school district or a private contractor — details that remain unconfirmed as the investigation continues.
Stevenson High School's own transportation guidance notes that congestion on campus tends to peak between 7:45 and 8:30 a.m. and again from 3:00 to 3:45 p.m., according to the district's transportation page. Afternoon buses use Lot E and Lot D, and buses carrying students who stay for after-school activities depart from Lot D outside the Patriot Wellness Center at 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., per the same district page.
A Recurring Hazard Nationwide
Pedestrian injuries and deaths tied to school buses remain a persistent, if statistically rare, safety concern. Federal crash data compiled by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration shows that among pedestrians killed in school-transportation-related crashes, 11 percent were between 14 and 18 years old, while a larger share were younger children. Separately, NHTSA has noted that school buses have averaged roughly 26,000 crashes a year over an 11-year span, resulting in about 10 deaths annually.
Illinois State Police materials indicate that most children killed in bus-related crashes are pedestrians between five and seven years old who are getting on or off the bus, according to the agency's own safety documentation. A separate Illinois Department of Transportation report notes that crash data tracking includes incidents involving child pedestrians or cyclists under 18 near stopped school buses. Those patterns echo a case in Frankfort, Illinois, where a 6-year-old girl was run over by her own school bus, a death examined in a report by CBS Chicago.
For now, the extent of the Stevenson High School student's injuries and his recovery remain unclear, as Lincolnshire police continue gathering information about exactly how the teen ended up beneath the bus.
