Lake County prosecutors will not press charges in a school bus crash that killed one person and injured dozens of elementary schoolchildren this month, the Lake County Sheriff's office announced this morning.



The April 5 collision between two Jeeps and the full bus, which was carrying children to Newport School in Wadsworth, killed Philip Smith, a 62-year-old Beach Park resident who was driving one of the Jeeps.



The Lake County Coroner's Office found evidence of prescription drugs in Smith's system, according to the sheriff's press release.



Neither the sheriff's nor the coroner's offices would name the prescription drug.



The bus was traveling west on Highway 173 and struck Smith's Jeep Wrangler as he was headed south on Kilbourne Road at the traffic light, according the a statement released after the accident. The bus then rolled into a Jeep Cherokee that was driving east on Highway 173.



Paramedics drove dozens of children and the bus driver to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville to treat minor injuries.



The driver and passenger in the Jeep Cherokee were also treated at an area hospital, according to the previously released statement.



mholtz@tribune.com

jkeilman@tribune.com







