Drivers in accident have local ties
WALLACE TWP. – Both drivers involved in a crash nearly 250 miles away involving a charter bus loaded with school students and a tractor-trailer truck are from Fayette County. State police said Timothy Berkshire of Masontown was seriously injured Thursday morning when the charter bus he was driving slammed into a tractor-trailer driven by Willie Robert Ruff of Brownsville on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Wallace Township, Chester County.
According to state police trooper Donald D. Hardeman, Berkshire, 49, of 217 N. Main St., suffered the injuries when the bus, carrying 29 students, crashed around 4:30 a.m., about 35 miles outside of Philadelphia.
Students on the bus from the Elizabeth Forward School District were headed to Wildwood, N.J., for a band competition. Officials said about 30 people were injured in the collision.
The bus is owned by T.A. Nelson Bus Line Inc. in Connellsville.
State police said Berkshire suffered the worst of the injuries in the crash, with the majority of damage to the coach sustained on the front passenger side.
Emergency crews had to cut Berkshire free from the wreckage and he was subsequently flown by medical helicopter to Lancaster General Hospital for treatment, police said.
Berkshire’s daughter, Amber Berkshire of Masontown, said she and her mother learned of the crash around 7 a.m. when they got a telephone call from a hospital in the Philadelphia area.
She said her mother immediately drove to the hospital to be with Berkshire.
Amber Berkshire said her father has been driving for the bus line for several years and that he drove on long trips “all the time.”
Amber Berkshire said her father came out of emergency surgery Thursday afternoon and was in serious but stable condition. She said she still was not sure of the extent of his injuries.
John Lines, a spokesman for the hospital, confirmed Timothy Berkshire’s condition late Thursday.
According to Hardeman, the accident occurred when the tractor-trailer, driven by Ruff, 58, pulled out of a pull-off area and into the right, eastbound lane. Hardeman said the truck was traveling at 40 mph when the bus slammed into the back of it. Police said the bus was going about 60 mph when the crash occurred. After impact, the vehicles continued to travel 400 feet before stopping, police said.
Phone lines at the bus company remained busy throughout the afternoon. A company employee was reached at 4:38 p.m. but declined comment and said that the spokesman for the bus line left the office at 4 p.m.