A crash in Butler County, Pennsylvania, involving a school bus and a tractor-trailer resulted in two school bus fatalities.
The names of the deceased 14-year-old student passenger and the 31-year-old school bus driver had not been released at this writing. The Pennsylvania State Police stated that the tractor-trailer and school bus were traveling in the northbound lanes of Interstate-79 on Tuesday afternoon when the collision occurred. Severe to moderated injuries were reported from the bus passengers, however, the number of students on the bus was not released.
The tractor-trailer driver was not injured.
The school bus was reportedly transporting students home from the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, located on the Ohio River about 35 miles northwest of Pittsburgh. School officials posted on the district website that they are mourning the loss of one of their “precious students and a dedicated bus driver.”
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“Words cannot express the true gravity of this tragic event,” the website post states. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the two families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy.”
The school will remain open and additional grief counselors and support staff will be on hand to help students navigate through this “tragic time.”
The crash remains under investigation. There was no information released on what caused the crash or if the bus was equipped with seatbelts.
The student fatality is at least the second in or around a school bus this year, while at least four school bus drivers have died in the line of duty, according to news reports.
