6 reported injured in crash between bus and tractor-trailer in Salem

Six people were taken to area hospitals Thursday afternoon from a wreck involving two tractor-trailers, a Westmoreland County Transit Authority bus and a car at the intersection of Routes 819 and 22 in Salem Township, according to emergency responders.

The male bus driver and his three wheelchair-bound passengers were among those injured when a tractor-trailer that was headed east on Route 22 struck the side of the northbound bus, Forbes Road fire Chief Bob Rosatti said.

The bus was pushed into the westbound lanes, where a second tractor-trailer and a car became involved, he said.

The drivers of the two westbound vehicles and the bus driver were taken by ambulance to area hospitals with were believed to be minor injuries, according to state police from the Kiski Valley station.

The bus passengers, whose injuries were unknown, also were taken to a local hospital.

Police said the driver of the eastbound rig failed to stop for a red light when the truck struck the bus at about 2:40 p.m. The westbound vehicles were stopped or coming to a stop for the light, according to police.

Multiple ambulances were requested to transport patients, a Westmoreland County dispatch supervisor reported. A medical helicopter was unable to respond because of weather concerns.

“There was a lot of glass that flew from the side of the bus that was impacted by the truck,” Rosatti said. “Fortunately, (the passengers) were all strapped in very well, or it could have been a lot worse.”

The passengers were freed from the wrecked bus through the rear emergency door, since the handicapped ramp was destroyed in the crash, Rosatti said.

“They were handed out by the firefighters,” he said.

Traffic was restricted on the roadways at the scene, but vehicles were being detoured around the intersection. Route 22 remained open eastbound.

The transit authority confirmed the wreck involved a Go Westmoreland mini-bus. The majority of that fleet is used for a paratransit program that provides door-to-door service to elderly, low-income and handicapped riders.

Kim Kelley, who works at Kelley’s Pizzeria near the scene, said she went to assist the bus passengers before paramedics arrived. Kelley’s hands had blood on them as she spoke with a reporter.

“The first passenger was on the floor with a cut to his eye. And the next guy was in a wheelchair. And his chair was collapsing and he was bleeding, but I couldn’t tell from where,” Kelley said.

Kelley said a third injured passenger, a woman, “was half hanging out the window and half inside the van.”

An Indiana County man was killed June 4 when his car collided with a tractor-trailer at the same intersection.