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2009 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
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2 standing on double decker bus.

2009 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bus-accidentjun02,0,1885764.story

2 suburban men killed in bus accident in Mattoon, Ill. Men were struck by overpass while standing atop open-air bus Freelance reporter Joseph Ruzich contributed to this report. | Tribune reporters

June 2, 2009

As they partied atop an open-air double-decker bus, the passengers were unaware of the low overpass rapidly approaching.

Though several people were standing on the top level with the wind whipping in their faces, two 22-year-old men stood slightly taller than the others.

Those extra inches perhaps proved deadly Saturday night, friends said. The two men -- Justin Sleezer of Yorkville and Cameron Chana of Clarendon Hills -- were killed when their heads struck the Interstate Highway 57 overpass on Illinois Highway 16 in Mattoon, just west of Charleston, Ill., authorities said.

"It's just one of those things you would never think you would see," Mattoon Police Chief David Griffith said Monday. "It was a horrible accident."

The tragedy occurred about 7:24 p.m. as about 50 passengers, mostly students from Eastern Illinois University in Charleston, were returning on the rented bus from a day of boating at Lake Shelbyville, about 200 miles south of Chicago, authorities said.

After the accident, the bus driver drove the victims to the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon. They were taken to Carle Foundation Hospital in Urbana, where they were pronounced dead Sunday morning, Griffith said.

There were no other injuries. The bus was traveling east on Illinois Highway 16, where the I-57 overpass is slightly shorter than on the westbound side, Griffith said.

Sleezer was invited to the outing by a friend whose brother attends EIU. Sleezer was remembered Monday as an avid outdoorsman who took hunting and fishing trips to Wisconsin and Canada with his father and friends, his father, Michael, said.

Sleezer worked for Coffman Truck Sales in Aurora, said his mother, Becky, who last spoke to her son Friday when he was on his way to Charleston. "I told him to be safe, and he said, 'I will, Mom.' And I told him I loved him, and he said, 'I love you, too,' " she said.

Chana was a member of Sigma Pi and had served as the fraternity's representative during Greek Week last spring, Sigma Pi member Jason Abbate said. Chana graduated from EIU and was returning to get his master's of business administration, said Ryan Smith, his former roommate. "Cameron Chana was the nicest man you ever would want to meet," Smith said.

Abbate said several members of Sigma Pi were on the bus at the time, but the event was not organized by the fraternity.

Party organizers rented the red bus from Lincoln Springs Resort in Charleston. Lincoln Springs Chief Operations Officer David Kirsch said, "Our sympathies go out to the individuals' family and friends," but declined to comment further.

The driver never told the partygoers on the upper deck to sit down, passengers on the bus said.

"There was nothing ever said to us about any safety precautions," said Sleezer's friend, Robert Stiles, 22. Many were drinking from a case of beer, Stiles said.

Griffith said it was unclear whether the victims were standing or sitting when the bus went under the overpass, but Stiles said Sleezer and Chana were among several people standing at the time.

At about 6-foot-2, Sleezer was one of the taller people standing on the deck, Stiles said. Chana was about 6-foot-3, fraternity brothers said.

"I'm thinking the other taller guys were sitting down," Stiles said.

Sleezer was standing at the back of the bus facing backward. Chana was standing at the front of the bus, also facing backward, Stiles said. "It happened so quickly. None of us saw the overpass coming."

Stiles, who described himself as about 5-foot-7, said he was standing next to Sleezer. "He fell into my arms," Stiles said.

Griffith said the accident is under investigation and police are looking into whether any regulations were violated.

On Chestnut Avenue in Clarendon Hills, friends created a memorial for Chana and left messages. One said, "You are in our hearts, Cam."

Submitted on 06/03/2009

Submitted by: Bill E. Bob
Reference: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-bus-accidentjun02,0,1885764.story

Copyright © 2009 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

James said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
We've already received this, but the extra detail pretty much confirms what I guessed all along...that the victims were unaware they were headed for a "low bridge"...


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: No Self-Selection
What James said.


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