A Greensburg Salem school bus driver was critically injured Monday afternoon when his bus was struck by a flatbed tractor-trailer and he was ejected through the bus doors, landing under a car on Route 22 in Salem Township.
Two Metzger Elementary School students aboard the bus escaped serious injury when the driverless bus traveled 60-80 feet east on Route 22 and passed between two tri-axle dump trucks stopped for a red light.
The bus came to rest atop a pile of rocks.
Witnesses said the veteran driver, Thomas D. Elder, 62, Greensburg, ended up under the front end of a westbound Honda Civic driven by John J. Knobloch, 52, of Greensburg. Elder was flown by medical helicopter to UPMC Presbyterian hospital in Pittsburgh, where he was listed in critical condition last night.
State police at Kiski Valley, which investigated the crash, said Elder was not wearing a seat belt.
Officials of Laidlaw Transit, which operates the bus under contract with Greensburg Salem, could not be reached for comment.
School Superintendent Thomas Yarabinetz said one pupil, Laura Guerriere, 11, of Greensburg, suffered a bump on the head and was taken to Westmoreland Regional Hospital, Greensburg, as a precautionary measure. The other pupil, Ande Greco, 8, of New Alexandria, was taken home by her parents.
Anxious parents rushed to collect their children who were getting off other school buses as news of the crash spread through the area and traffic backed up in all directions.
Yesterday's crash was the fifth school bus accident in Salem Township this year, fire officials said.
The bus, which was making a left turn onto Route 22 from Route 819 north, was struck by the eastbound rigoperated by William M. Stacy, 35, of Wolford, Va.
State police reported that the accident occurred at about 4:20 p.m. when Stacy was unable to stop at the red traffic signal. Debris from the collision hit a van operated by Richard J. Penrod, 47, of Indiana, which was stopped behind Knobloch's car. After the collision the bus continued north and hit a truck operated by Floyd D. McCurdy, 41, of Daisytown, Washington County. McCurdy was stopped for a traffic signal in one of the westbound lanes.
Forbes Road fire Chief Bob Rosatti arrived at the intersection, commonly referred to as "Five Points," to find Elder wedged under the Honda that was stopped in a turning lane for a red light.
"The driver saw the accident starting to unfold and laid down on the seat," Rosatti said. "When he got up, someone said, "Don't move your car.'"
"Five Points" is the intersection where Trees Mill Road meets routes 22 and 819.
Rosatti enlisted the help of "the biggest guys" he could find at the scene to help lift the Honda so Elder could be moved. One of them was the driver of the flatbed, he said.
Mike Rotigel, 18, of Greensburg, was driving his car west onto Route 22 from Route 819 south when the flatbed rig owned by J&S Transport & Tire Sales of Tazewell, Va., swerved to miss his car and struck the bus.
"The (school bus) driver was thrown out through the doors and landed under the front of the Civic," Rotigel said.
The accident took place in the middle of the intersection, he said. There weren't many cars at the light.
The rig was loaded with rebar, or steel rods. Sharon McReynolds, J&S Transport dispatcher in Tazewell, Va., said the driver "was real tore up" about the accident.
Rescue personnel from Slickville, Forbes Road, Export and Delmont were on the scene, along with four medic units.
