- Driver charged was enroute to Iroquois Court -

Iroquois West School Superintendent Dr. Linda Dvorak reports 22 Iroquois West Middle School students have been treated and released from a hospital after the bus they were riding in was struck head-on Thursday morning.

Dvorak reported there were 23, including the bus driver, transported to Iroquois Memorial Hospital in Watseka.

They've all been treated and released having suffered just minor bumps, bruises and soreness.

Thirty-seven students were on the bus, headed to the middle school in Onarga, when it was struck head-on by a car driven by Delon T. Dalton of South Holland (IL). The accident happened just after 8 am on S. Crescent Street in Gilman.

15 students were released to their parents at the scene.
Dalton was transported to Iroquois Memorial Hospital and later airlifted to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana. A Carle spokesman reported Dalton was in fair condition.

Iroquois County Sheriff's Police said Dalton was on his way to Iroquois County court in Watseka when the accident happened.

Gilman Police officer Kaleb Kraft reported the bus driver, Gloria Huizenga of Crescent City, was southbound on South Crescent Street when Dalton's passenger car crossed the center line as he was negotiating a curve, striking the bus head on.

Dvorak said the students on the bus handled the situation well.

The Superintendent said "This is what you practice drills for. The kids were wonderful. "They did exactly what they were supposed to do."

Ambulances from Buckley and Milford and Gilman Fire, along with Iroquois Memorial Hospital and Riverside Ambulance responded. Gilman Police, Iroquois County Sheriff's Police, Illinois State Police also responded.

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