20 injured in crash involving school bus from Milwaukee

A semi-truck rear-ended a bus loaded with students from Hope Christian School in Milwaukee that was parked on the shoulder of I-39 on Wednesday morning.

The Wisconsin State Patrol said it happened on I-39/90/94 around 10:15 a.m. on the northbound side at mile marker 122.4 in Columbia County near Lodi.

A preliminary investigation has revealed that the school bus which was transporting students from a private Milwaukee area school was headed northbound when the driver, 51-year-old Yvonne Y. Gayton of Milwaukee, pulled onto the shoulder of I-39 because of a mechanical issue.

A spokesperson with the Wisconsin State Patrol said the driver of the semi-truck, Wayne Edward Murphy, 42 of Indianapolis, Indiana was reported to be driving erratically before the crash. Troopers were looking for the driver at the time of the crash.

Wisconsin State Patrol said 33 people were on board the bus at the time of the crash. Four of the people suffered serious injuries including two who were evacuated from the scene via Med Flight helicopter with others going to two other area hospitals.

A spokesperson from UW Health said they has received a total of 9

patients from the crash. Two of the injured were taken to The American Center site, and seven were taken to UW Hospital. Their conditions are being assessed.

A spokesperson with SSM Health said 11 people are being treated at SSM Health Emergency Center in Sun Prairie.

"We ended up treating 11 patents from this incident. There were 3 adults and 8 kids," Dr. Kacey Kronenfeld, SSM Regional EMS Medical Director said. "Fortunately none of them were seriously injured. They all suffered from minor injuries. The school district we have been in contact with and all of the parents that have been or families that have been impacted by this incident have already been in contact as well."

Another bus was sent from Milwaukee to pick up the remaining passengers.

All northbound lanes were cleared around 1:30 p.m. The lanes were blocked for over two hours.

UW Health reports as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, one crash victim is in critical condition. The rest are either in good or fair condition.

In a statement posted to Facebook, representatives from Hope Christian School says, "One of our schools buses was in an accident this AM in rural WI on the way to an end of the year field trip. While very scary, our staff and students were blessed by urgent first-responders, local medical attention as well as the kindness and generosity of Deforest Public Schools. Please keep our Semper scholars in your prayers for quick recovery and safe travels to reunite with loved ones,"