A bus driver has been cited for causing a chain-reaction crash involving three school buses that sent 11 students to hospitals in Will County near Braidwood on Tuesday morning, state police said.

The children, all of whom attend the same school, were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries and the expressway lanes were reopened by 1:30 p.m.

About 8:30 a.m., the three northbound 2024 yellow IC buses were all traveling in the right lane. As traffic slowed to a halt near Braidwood, the last bus in line could not stop in time and rear-ended the bus in front of it, which then slammed into the first bus, state police said.

The remaining passengers were accounted for and returned to their school for release to their parents.

No additional vehicles were involved, and the driver of the bus that could not stop in time was issued a citation for failure to reduce speed to avoid a crash, state police said.

Earlier, additional buses assisted the uninjured kids, who were taken to the Love’s gas station at 23801 W. Bluff Road. in Channahon, state police said.