Monessen, PA : One Person died and one person injured in Derry Township bus-truck crash on April, Monday 10th 2017

A bus driver was killed and a truck driver seriously injured Monday on Route 22 in Derry Township when a tri-axle truck carrying stone slammed into the rear of a school bus stopping to pick up a student.

Deborah Bopp, 54, of Blairsville, was pronounced dead at the scene by the Westmoreland County Coroner's Office, state Trooper Steve Limani said.

No students had boarded the bus when the crash occurred at 7:15 a.m.

Limani said Bopp slowed down in the westbound lane to pick up a 17-year-old student when the truck struck it from behind.

Bopp was ejected; however, the police investigation showed the bus's seat belt was engaged, Limani said.

The student, Brianna Dunlap, a junior at Derry Area High School, told WPXI-TV she heard the bus driver yelling and “ran up my driveway, it scared me so bad. I was almost on that bus. I was walking toward it, and I don't have ... even a scratch,” she said. “I'm alive, and I wasn't on that bus. I am so lucky.”

Bopp drove for Smith Bus Co. in Burrell Township, Indiana County, which has a contract with the Derry school district.

The truck driver, Wesley White, 59, had to be pulled from his vehicle by firefighters and was airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital, Limani said.

White is employed by P&B Transportation Inc. in Washington Township. A company spokesman said a safety manager was on scene “dealing with it” but declined to comment further.

As of late afternoon, Limani said White was reported to be “conscious and undergoing testing” at the hospital. He was unable to provide additional information. The crash occurred in the westbound lanes near the intersection with Auction Barn Road, east of New Alexandria. Route 22 was shut down between routes 982 and 217 while police conducted an investigation, which continues. Westbound traffic backed up beyond Westmoreland's border with Indiana County.

The force of the collision slammed the bus into a 4-foot-high median, causing a large section of concrete to break off and block the passing eastbound lane.

The speed limit in that section is 55 mph, state police said.

Police indicated the truck was following too closely behind the bus. According to the coroner's report, Bopp had activated the bus's yellow warning flashers as she slowed in preparation for picking up the student.

After colliding with the bus, the truck crashed into a modular home owned by Long's Home Inc. off the north side of the highway. The business' office is located nearby. General manager David Dillon said the crash happened before he arrived for work.

As of 1 p.m. Monday, Dillon said a hazardous material team was working to clean up diesel fuel that had spilled where the truck struck the house. He did not know how much fuel had spilled.

Dillon said the company has never experienced such an accident and that no one from the company witnessed it.

“At this point, there are no plans (for the modular home),” Dillon said. “We're not really concerned with the home. It can always be replaced.”

Randall L. Smith, president of Smith Bus Co., and Eric Curry, assistant superintendent of the school district, offered condolences to the bus driver's family.

“We are asking that you respect the family and their privacy at this time,” Smith said in a statement.

The Curran-Shaffer Funeral Home is in charge of funeral arrangements for Bopp.


Source :
One Person died and one person injured in Derry Township bus-truck crash