School bus, tri-axle coal truck collide
Three of four Connellsville Area School District students aboard were reportedly uninjured when the bus on which they were riding and a tri-axle dump truck collided at the intersection of Route 119 and Greenhouse Road around 3 p.m. Friday. According to state police, a 2002 Bluebird school bus driven by Saundra Nicholson, 72, of Connellsville was turning left onto Route 119 north from Greenhouse Road when a 1997 Ford tri-axle truck was traveling south on Route 119 when the accident occurred at 3:05 p.m.
The driver of the truck, Thomas Beck Jr., 43, of Eighty Four attempted to stop at a traffic light turned yellow, but could not stop due to wet road conditions and struck the engine area of the school bus, police said.
Nicholson was taken by medical helicopter to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, W.Va. for treatment of a head injury, police said.
The helicopter landed at Bullskin Elementary School.
Beck was not injured, police said.
District transportation director James Lembo said the three uninjured students were released to their parents or guardians, while the fourth student aboard the bus was taken to a local hospital for precautionary reasons.
Police said the injured student, who was not identified, was taken to Frick Hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
The bus was transporting students home from the high school and Connellsville Junior High East.
Colborn Bus Lines owns the bus involved in the accident.
Firefighters with the Connellsville and Bullskin fire departments responded to the scene. Fayette EMS handled the injuries. Other fire departments were placed on standby during the accident.
The accident is under investigation, police said.