CULLOM - A Tri-Point High School bus collided with a farm implement Thursday morning on Illinois 116 near Saunemin, sending all 11 students and two adults on board to the hospital. | Updated photo gallery | Video

Ten of the 11 students were treated at OSF Saint James-John W. Albrecht Memorial Hospital in Pontiac and released, Tri-Point Superintendent Jeff Fritchtnitch said.

Saint James spokeswoman Pam Meiner said the 11th student was transported to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, where the student was listed in serious condition. Fritchtnitch said the student was airlifted to Peoria.

The crash occurred at 10:30 a.m. two miles east of Saunemin when the bus collided with an implement being towed by a pickup truck.

The bus driver, Charles Kestler, 54, of Chatsworth, and at least one student lost consciousness after the crash, Fritchtnitch said. Kestler was still being treated late Thursday in Pontiac, he said.

Another adult - a bus driver in training - was treated and released. The other students suffered cuts and bruises, and Fritchtnitch said he expected most of them will not be in school today.

The driver of the truck, Ronald Fluegel, 48, of Lena, apparently was not injured. The accident remained under investigation Thursday, but Fluegel received a ticket citing him with improper lane usage, Illinois State Police said.

State police released the name of the drivers involved in the crash but did not release the names of the students or the driver in training.

Tri-Point Junior High School Principal Jerry Tkachuk said, who was speaking for the administration Thursday afternoon, the bus was returning to the high school in Cullom after the students attended a morning class at the Livingston Area Vocational Center at Pontiac Township High School. Cullom is about 20 miles east of Pontiac.

Tkachuk said the high school sends two groups of students, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, to the vocational center for classes. The afternoon group did not go Thursday, and neither group will go today, Fritchtnitch said.

Meanwhile, classes resumed at the high school, and Fritchtnitch addressed the student body to inform them of the situation.

"We discussed that there's no blame in an accident and to keep that in mind as they deal with this on a personal level," Fritchtnitch said.

In addition, four guidance counselors with Livingston County Special Services Unit came to meet with students.

Counselors will return to the school today as well, Fritchtnitch said.

The Tri-Point school district is based in Kempton and covers a portion of eastern Livingston County and part of Ford County. The district's enrollment is about 640 students.

The district's high school is in Cullom and its junior high school is in Piper City.

State Police Master Sgt. Randy Veder said the crash occurred at the Five Mile Creek bridge when a farming disc pulled by a pickup truck crossed into the path of the bus. The truck was heading west on Illinois 116 and pulled slightly to the side of the road when the eastbound bus approached.

The disc struck a guardrail and bounced into the path of the bus. The bus ran off the road and struck a guardrail before stopping, police said.

The left side of the bus sustained heavy damage.

A large portion of the left-side panel of the bus was torn away, apparently by the discs on the implement.

State police, Pontiac, Cullom and Saunemin fire departments, Southeast Livingston County Ambulance Service, Duffy Ambulance Service, Pontiac police and Livingston County sheriff's police responded to the scene.

Pantagraph reporter Scott Miller contributed to this story.