A bus crash in southern Illinois on Thursday left one person dead and dozens of others injured.

The accident occurred when the driver of a double-decker bus en route from Chicago to St. Louis lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a bridge abutment on Interstate 55 just south of Springfield.

A spokesperson for Megabus, the owner of the vehicle, said the bus that crashed was only one year old and had undergone a thorough inspection less than a week before the accident.

Killed in the accident was 25-year-old Adititi Avhad, a dentist from Mumbai who was studying for a master's degree in health administration at the University of Missouri. Police said that at least half of the 64 passengers on board the bus at the time of the crash suffered injuries.

The bus driver and many of the passengers were trapped on the bus for some time before they were extracted by emergency crews.

Officials believe a blown tire may have caused the driver to lose control of the vehicle.