This morning, a tour bus veered off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and crashed into a tree, killing its driver and one passenger and seriously injuring other passengers. The bus was carrying the women’s lacrosse team from Seton Hill University, located near Pittsburgh, to a game at Millersville University in central Pennsylvania.
The passenger killed was one of the team’s coaches, 30-year-old Kristina Quigley of Greensburg, who was six months pregnant. Her unborn child did not survive the crash. The driver was 61-year-old Anthony Guaetta of Johnstown. –Miami Herald
All other passengers were taken to hospitals as a precaution.
The bus operator, Mlaker Charter & Tours, of Davidsville, Pa., sent investigators to the scene, company dispatcher Kelly Hay said. The company had no information yet from the investigators and could not comment, she said.
On Tuesday, another bus carrying college lacrosse players from a Vermont team was hit by a sports car that spun out of control on a wet highway in upstate New York, sending the bus toppling onto its side, police said. One person in the car died.
And last month, a bus carrying 42 high school students from the Philadelphia area and their chaperones slammed into an overpass in Boston, injuring 35. Authorities said the driver had directed the bus onto a road with a height limit. –philly.com
A spokesperson from the PA Public Utility Commission said that the bus company is up to date on its inspections, which include safety checks for both buses and drivers. But we need to have even better safety precautions for buses, and better screenings for drivers. Bus accidents result in too many deaths that could be prevented with more thorough safety protocols.
Comments for this article are closed.