South Suburban Driver Blamed for Bus Crash Near O'Hare on Friday

A south suburban woman is being blamed for the bus accident on Interstate 190 Friday morning outside of O’Hare International Airport that sent 15 people to the hospital.

A 43-year-old Country Club Hills woman, Queshonyas Eubanks, was cited by the Chicago Police for failing to remain in her lane and failing to carry a driver’s license, NBC Chicago reported Friday evening. Eubanks was reportedly in Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.

The bus Eubanks was driving slammed into a concrete median at about 6:30 a.m. tying up traffic for hours.

Passengers on the bus told the Chicago Sun-Times they noticed the bus appeared to be headed straight for the median and the driver never turned the wheel. The Sun-Times also reports:

The bus was owned by Delaware Car Rental, which has a $46 million, 10-year contract with the city to supply shuttle buses at O’Hare, records show.

The contract requires Delaware to run background checks on all drivers. Delaware owner Richard W. Smith declined to comment Friday, but his lawyer, Karen Conti, said the driver involved in the crash had passed the background check, a physical exam and random drug tests before the accident.

Two firefighters on their way to work were near the accident. They helped passengers from the bus and treated their wounds as they waited for emergency rescue. One of the firefighters broke a window in the bus and pulled the bus driver, who was pinned behind the wheel, out of the bus as fluid leaked from the underside of the vehicle, according to Chicago Fire Department officials.

The injuries were not life threatening.

“A lot of blood, a lot of what seemed like broken bones,” said Robert Gembala, one of the firefighters who rushed to the bus passengers’ aid. He’s assigned the rescue station at the airport.

The other firefighter, Roy Williams, hurt his back as he tried to get the driver out of the bus.