As 10 spring breakers rode home from an NIU-sponsored kayaking trip early Saturday morning, a run-in with an icy bridge near Champaign caused their van to roll several times down a hill off Interstate 74.

State police said the NIU Outing Centre van was traveling west near Mohamet, near the junction of I-74 and Route 47, at 3:15 a.m. Saturday when a trailer attached to the van jack-knifed and sent the vehicle careening down a hill. Two people were thrown from the van. Three of nine passengers remained hospitalized in fair condition Sunday night.

“From what I’ve heard, other vehicles were having the same problems in that same area,” said John Sweeney, director of the Office of Campus Recreation. “I guess the good news is that the police and medical teams were already in the area because of other accidents, so help got there quicker.”

Two vans carried NIU students and staff members on their return trip from Georgia. One person was listed in critical condition until Sunday, when all three victims were upgraded to fair condition.

“You’ve got something like that going on, plus the tired factor from a long week of spring break, so the cumulative events were critical for everyone,” Sweeney said. “It could have have been much worse, much more serious, but we were just glad everyone was helped so quickly during such a serious time.”