Editor’s note: Superintendent Scott Vance submitted this press release. “All students that were involved in this morning’s bus incident [red bus] have arrived safely at school. Thank you to the Whiteside County Sheriff’s Department, Morrison Police Department, CGH, and Morrison Community Hospital for helping to ensure the safety of our students.”
On Monday, February 13, 2023, at 7:29 a.m., Whiteside County Deputies were dispatched to 17218 Lincoln Road (U. S. Route 30) for a car vs. school bus crash with injuries. The initial crash investigation determined that Zane J. Gifford, age 32, of Whitewater, WI, was traveling westbound on U. S. Route 30, when he rear-ended a Morrison Community Unit School District #6 bus (operated by RC Smith Transportation.) The bus was stopped in the westbound lane with red lights flashing, while a child got on the bus. Gifford sustained severe injuries and was airlifted by a MedForce helicopter to Javon Bea Hospital in Rockford, IL. One student on the bus was transported by CGH Ambulance to Morrison Community Hospital with suspected minor injuries. The bus driver and five other students on the bus were not injured.
Whiteside County Deputies were assisted at the scene by Illinois State Police, Morrison Police Department, Morrison Community Hospital Ambulance, Morrison Fire Department, CGH Ambulance, MedForce Helicopter, and Hunter’s Towing.