Chicago Area: One Person died (Eric West, Jr) and Three others injured when Van collied with CTA bus and burst into flames, early wed April 23rd, at Calument Heights Neighborhood.

One person died and three others were injured when a van collided with a CTA bus early Wednesday in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side.

A CTA bus traveling southbound in the 9300 block of South Commercial Avenue collided with a van traveling eastbound on East 93rd Street about 12:45 a.m., said police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer, citing preliminary information.

The van, which was carrying three people, burst into flames after the crash. Two Good Samartians came from a bar nearby and were able to pull two passengers from the vehicle, Greer said.
The male driver of the van remained pinned inside, and after firefighters pulled him from the burning vehicle, he was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 1:42 a.m., Greer said. The Cook County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed the fatality, but did not release additional information.

The two passengers, whose genders and ages were not immediately known, were taken in serious-to-critical condition to Christ Medical Center and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said.

The bus driver was taken in fair-to-serious condition to Advocate Trinity Hospital, Langford said.

There were no passengers in the bus at the time of the crash, Greer said.

The police Major Accidents Investigation Unit is investigating the crash

Update at 1:27 pm - Person identified as Eric West, Jr

Source: http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/local/chicago_news&id=9513388