Injured bus passengers in Albert Lea, Austin hospitals in fair condition
Published 11:51 am Thursday, November 19, 2009
All of the passengers hospitalized at Albert Lea and Austin medical centers following a tour bus rollover Wednesday on Interstate 90 are listed in fair condition, according to spokeswomen at both hospitals this morning.
Jennifer Levisen, community relations and marketing specialist at Albert Lea Medical Center said the hospital treated six patients Wednesday.
Of those patients, Maurice A. Greene, 72, of Rochester, Alice M. Greene, 72, of Rochester, and Earl W. Kesler, 73, of Rochester have been treated and released.
Leon Markham, 78, of Mantorville, Virginia Markham, 75, of Mantorville, and Beverly J. Cooper, 78, of Rochester are still in fair condition.
Their conditions are expected to improve throughout the day, Levisen added.
At Austin Medical Center, two of the eight hospitalized have been released, and the remaining six are listed in fair condition, according to a spokeswoman.
She said she could not release the names of those patients.
The status of the passengers taken to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester is unknown. A spokeswoman at this hospital said the information would be available later in the day.
The injuries happened after the bus they were riding in landed on its right side after crossing a grassy median and somehow avoided oncoming traffic on Interstate 90 three miles west of Austin, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
The bus belonged to Strain Bus Line Motorcoach Tours of Rochester. It was headed back to Rochester following a day trip to Diamond Jo Casino in Northwood, Iowa, according to a Strain representative.
Though the State Patrol said it could be weeks before a cause is determined, the Rochester Post-Bulletin this morning reports the “52-year-old driver suffered a ruptured aneurysm in his chest” after speaking with the bus company. The driver is Ed Erickson of Elgin.