Brownsville bus driver injured after rolling into house
Roberto M. Esquivel|Herald-Standard
A school bus driver for the Brownsville Area School District was flown to an area hospital for treatment after the bus he was operating struck a utility pole and then rolled backwards into a house. The accident occured along Arensburg Road in Luzerne Township shortly after 9 a.m. Monday. No students were on the bus at the time of the accident.
Amanda Steen | Herald-Standard
Brent Broadwater tries to call his niece who lives in the home on Arensburg Road in Isabella where a bus driver crashed into their porch after hitting a pole before 9am Monday morning.
A Brownsville Area School District bus driver was flown from the scene after his bus hit a pole and rolled into a Luzerne Township house Monday morning.
No students were on the bus, according to state police.
Police said the driver suffered head injuries and a broken limb in the crash on Arensburg Road.
The driver, who has not been identified, was taking off his seat belt to reach for a pencil when he lost control of the vehicle and rolled down a hill into a house at 175 Arensburg Road, police said.
Neighbor Lori Redman said she heard the school bus alarm and called her niece, Beth Lindey, who owns the house. No one was home at the time of the crash.
Lindey was already at work as a substitute teacher when she got the call. Redman said Lindey’s first concern was for the bus driver.
“I was very shocked, and I just hope the bus driver is OK,” Lindey said.
The porch was damaged from the crash, and Lindey said the roof appears to be buckled.
In 1982, Lindey’s great uncle built the now-damaged roof with a neighbor. He fell off the roof and shattered his shoulder, Lindey said. The house has been in the family for 57 years and first belonged to Lindey’s grandmother.
“It’s been in the same family all this time,” she said.
Branches of a lilac bush Lindey’s grandmother planted about 30 years ago snapped as the bus was towed up the hill.
Redman said the family has a tradition of living close and helping each other, she said.
“We’re all just a little country family,” she said.
They said they are hoping the driver recovers quickly.
Superintendent Phil Savini said he is grateful no students were hurt.
“We hope that the bus driver is well,” he said. “We’re very fortunate no students were injured.”
The school uses Ricco’s Bus Lines of East Brownsville for their bus transportation, he said.
Jack Lawver of Ricco’s Bus Lines said the most recent accident with the service was last year, when a fuel truck hit a bus.
He said he is glad no students were hurt, and he is hoping for a smooth recovery for the driver.