Two injured after church van overturns in east Springfield

Police say two people were taken to the hospital with what appear to be non-life-threatening injuries after a church van went off the roadway and overturned Sunday afternoon on Interstate 44 at the eastern edge of the Springfield city limits.

The crash happened at about 2 p.m., when a tire blew on the van, causing the driver to lose control, according to Sgt. Steve Pratt with the Springfield Police Department.

Pratt said there were 13 people in the van at the time of the crash, many of them teenagers. The front of the van suffered significant damage, and Pratt said the end result could have been much worse.

Tony Schult was in the van when it crashed. He said the group was on its way home to Bethalto, Illinois after spending the weekend in Branson for a youth retreat.

Schult said he heard a pop and then the van fishtailed and went off the roadway.

Schult said the van hit an embankment and overturned.

A couple of people were trapped inside the van, but bystanders helped push the van back on its wheels and free the entrapped passengers, Schult said.

"Thank God for his hand and protection," an emotional Schult told reporters after the crash.

One lane of eastbound I-44 was blocked off while police investigated the crash.