SCHOOL BUS CRASH REPORTS 2007

Bus Wreck Leads to Rostraver Accident
April 12, 2007

ROSTRAVER TOWNSHIP -...A Fayette County woman and her two sisters were critically injured Wednesday when their vehicle smashed into a tractor-trailer as they were rushing to Pittsburgh, where her daughter was among several students hurt in a school bus wreck.
None of the Laurel Highlands School District students suffered serious injuries in the wreck that occurred about 11 a.m. as they were en route to yesterday's Pirates game. Pittsburgh police said three buses were involved in a chain-reaction collision near the Wabash Tunnel, at the base of Mt. Washington.

Senora Workman, 36, of Uniontown, whose 14-year-old daughter suffered a back injury in the bus wreck, was traveling to Pittsburgh shortly before noon when their vehicle struck a tractor-trailer parked near the Rostraver Airport along Route 51.

Workman and her sisters - Peggy Lohr, 46, of Farmington, and Rona Rockwell, 44, of Hopwood - were flown to Pittsburgh hospitals.

Workman and Lohr were listed in serious condition this morning, according to a spokesman from Allegheny General Hospital.

Their niece, Ashley Williams, 19, also of Hopwood, was treated and released from Mercy Hospital.

Workman's daughter, Samantha, was treated and released from Mercy Hospital, according to the teen's grandmother, Elaine Workman, of Uniontown.

Elaine Workman said Senora Workman suffered two broken arms and spleen, lung and facial injuries, and Lohr suffered head, eye, arm and rib injuries.

Rockwell was listed in critical condition this morning in the Burmingham Trauma and Burn Center at Mercy Hospital.

"Senora was too upset to drive, so she asked her sister to drive to the hospital," Elaine Workman said.

Rostraver police said witnesses told them Lohr was traveling at a high rate of speed when the vehicle came upon a sport utility vehicle partially blocking the passing lane of Route 51 near the intersection with Airport Road.

Lohr swerved to avoid the SUV and drove off the roadway, police said.

The women's vehicle struck a mound of dirt and a stop sign before flying 94 feet and smashing into the unoccupied rig, police said.

"Several witnesses confirmed that (the women's vehicle) was traveling at a high rate of speed and in an erratic manner several miles prior to the accident," according to a police statement.

Elaine Workman said Rockwell was thrown through the windshield. Police said the other women were trapped in the wreckage.

Elaine Workman said her son, Earl, who is studying to be a minister, rushed to the hospital to be at the bedside of his former wife and her sisters.

"We're a Christian family. They're divorced but still love this young woman," Workman said. "My son is in the hospital praying with her family."

Workman said her granddaughter was among several eighth-graders who were scheduled to sing the national anthem before the Pirates-Cardinals game.

The teen was with about 300 eighth-graders from the Laurel Highlands Middle School who were riding nine buses to the game.

Eight children suffered minor neck and back injuries, said Pittsburgh police Sgt. Ray Rippole. All were treated and released from Pittsburgh hospitals, he said.

Police said the wreck occurred when a bus stopped at a traffic light. A second bus stopped behind it, but the next bus failed to stop and struck the rear of the second bus, which slammed into the first.

The buses had minor damage and were not towed. Laidlaw Bus Co. supervisors arrived with three new bus drivers. Officials took the three drivers involved in the wreck for drug and alcohol testing, which is company policy, police said.

By Tony LaRussa
For The Valley Independent

LEGISLATOR PUSHES FOR SEAT BELTS ON BUSES

The buses involved in a chain-reaction wreck Wednesday near the Wabash Tunnel at the base of Mt. Washington in Pittsburgh had no seat belts.

State Sen. Wayne Fontana last month introduced legislation that would require seat belts on school buses. He said he hopes yesterday's crash will raise awareness of the need to require seat belts.

"It makes no sense to me that we have strict laws requiring seat belts in cars and other vehicles, but we don't take the same steps to protect the safety of our children when they travel to and from school or other events," said Fontana, D-Brookline.

His measure has been referred to the Senate Transportation Committee.

"We've seen buses roll over and kids thrown all over the place during accidents," he said. "If we think they should be restrained while in a car, then it is common sense that they ought to be restrained while on a bus."

An estimated 17,000 children are injured each year in bus-related accidents, according to the National Coalition for School Bus Safety, based in Torrington, Conn. About 25 million children ride school buses to and from school each year.

Dr. Alan Ross, the coalition's president, said getting laws passed to require safety belts on buses takes involvement by parents and others concerned about the safety of children.

Five states -- New York, New Jersey, Florida, Louisiana and California -- require seat belts on school buses. Similar legislation is being considered in 28 other states, Ross said.

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