Schoolbus/snowplow crash details

Gus Philpott
Woodstock Advocate
March 7, 2012

Finally ... the Northwest Herald was able to get information from the McHenry County Sheriff's Department about Saturday's crash on Route 23 near Dunham Road between a school bus and a snowplow. Why the delay? This should have been in the paper on Sunday!

The crash at 8:18AM Saturday involved a northbound Huntley District 158 school bus and a southbound snowplow belonging to the McHenry County Department of Transportation.

I sent numerous requests to the Northwest Herald, asking that they obtain information and publish it. Why did it take until Wednesday morning? I'll give the Northwest Herald the benefit of the doubt and assume it published it as soon as it got the details.

You'll have to read the article for yourself to try to figure out what really happened. Try some of these details. Road was snow covered. Wind was blowing. Roadway was narrow. Plow was traveling south. The plow was not down at the time. So that means the blade was up.

If the road was snow-covered and narrow because of blowing snow, why was the blade up? Why wasn't the blade down and clearing snow off the highway? Which way was the wind blowing? Possibly, the plow driver could have increased the hazard by plowing snow that would blow in front of a school bus. "Possibly" Or else everybody slows down. Ever pass an oncoming snowplow with the blade up? It makes you want to drive into a field!

Three students, who were members of the Huntley High School choir enroute to Harvard, were injured and taken to Mercy Harvard.

No tickets were issued, because deputies could not determine which vehicle was across the centerline. Come on, folks... The drivers know who was across the line...