State Police Assist Stranded Bus Passengers

The ISP said on their Twitter account that between 8am and 4pm, they assisted more than 1,300 motorists and took more than 460 calls for help. ISP notes that's 10 times the normal count on a typical winter day.

The most serious call came at about 6:45am, when District 9 troopers responded to a call reporting a stranded charter bus northbound on I-55. 

21 passengers, including two children, were traveling northbound when the bus broke down. Realizing the passengers had been without heat for some time, a plan was coordinated to have them transported off the roadway to shelter. Several troopers from nearby districts responded to the incident. Passengers on the bus were placed in state police squad cars where they had access to heat. Additionally, the State Police Academy responded to the scene with several vans so the passengers could be transported safely off of the roadway.

Passengers were taken to Toni's Cafe, next to the Travel Center in Auburn. They were accommodated with food and shelter as they waited for another bus traveling from St. Louis.

It appears the van suffered the fate of several semis stranded on the roadway; the diesel fuel gelled in the vehicles' fuel systems.