A 53-year-old Cedar Lake woman died Thursday from her injuries after a Crown Point school bus crashed head-on into her SUV.
Lisa Smith, who resided in the 10000 block of West 133rd Avenue, was pronounced dead at 2:11 p.m. at the University of Chicago Medical Center, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s report.
A Lake County Sheriff’s Department release said a preliminary investigation showed the bus was traveling west on 133rd around 8:30 a.m. when it veered off the road to the north, struck a mailbox and overcorrected to the left of the center of the road and into the path of oncoming traffic. It’s believed that Smith, who was driving a Ford Edge SUV, tried to avoid crashing, but both vehicles collided in the 3300 block of West 133rd Avenue.
No students were on the bus at the time of the crash, police said. The bus driver and a bus monitor were the only people on the bus at the time of the crash.
The bus driver was transported to a local medical facility for evaluation. An observer was released from the scene.
Crown Point Community School Corporation did not return a request for comment.
No additional details were available Friday on the cause of the crash, which remains under investigation by the Lake County Sheriff’s Department Traffic Unit.
