DOWNS - A rural Bloomington man died Friday morning after being critically injured in a motorcycle crash Wednesday afternoon near Downs, the McLean County coroner said.

Daniel DeBernardi, 57, was southbound on County Highway 29 when he apparently took evasive action to try to avoid hitting a school bus approaching the intersection from the east on County Highway 36, authorities said. DeBernardi, who was wearing a helmet, laid down the motorcycle and was thrown off, authorities said.

Daniel DeBernardi

He was taken to OSF St. Joseph Medical Center, Bloomington, after the crash around 3:20 p.m. Wednesday. He was pronounced dead there around 9:10 a.m. Friday, said McLean County Coroner Beth C. Kimmerling.

A statement on the cause of death will come after a review of his medical records, which will take several days, Kimmerling said in a statement.

The bus carrying children from the Tri-Valley school district was westbound on County Highway 36, said McLean County sheriff's Sgt. Jon Sandage. But it appears the bus had not yet entered the intersection after stopping at a stop sign when DeBernardi approached, Sandage said.

Curt Simonson, superintendent for the Downs-based school district, confirmed the bus was stopped at the stop sign.

"Anytime a tragic accident takes place, it affects everybody. It has been hard on us," Simonson said of the school community.

Some students did witness the accident, he said. Counseling was provided by the school on both Thursday and Friday, he said.

The crash remains under investigation, and no citations have been issued.

The school bus carrying mostly elementary school students was not in any danger of being struck, Sandage said. The people on the bus were classified as witnesses to the accident.

The school bus had just started taking children home from school and was "relatively full," Simonson said.

The students were taken off the bus and transferred to another bus for the rest of their ride, Sandage said.

There were no additional vehicles being sought in connection with the crash, he said.

Simonson, who went to the scene to see if he could help, said the district followed its emergency plan and the bus driver called for help immediately at the time of the accident.

DeBernardi was an avid deer hunter and worked at State Farm Insurance Cos., Kimmerling said in a statement.

Phyllis Coulter contributed to this report.