LUZERNE COUNTY, PA- A collision between a school bus and a tow truck in Pennsylvania resulted in the hospitalization of 49 children and two adults on Wednesday. The bus was transporting 54 students, ranging from kindergarten to eighth grade, to Bear Creek Community Charter School in Wilkes-Barre. The accident occurred on Route 115 in Luzerne County around 8:10 a.m., according to Pennsylvania State Police.
By Wednesday afternoon, four of the injured children were still receiving treatment for moderate injuries, as reported by Bear Creek CEO Jim Smith. The bus driver, 53-year-old Suzanne Ent, and the tow truck driver, Edward Steinmann, 28, were also among those hospitalized with moderate injuries, state police Capt. Patrick Dougherty confirmed.
At the accident scene, students were assessed and some were released to their parents. Others were transported by ambulance to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Hospital, as per Smith’s community bulletin. A second group of students was escorted to the same hospital in another school bus, accompanied by state police.
Images from the accident scene revealed significant front-end damage to both the school bus and the tow truck. All parents of the involved children have been informed about the incident, Dougherty confirmed.
Preliminary investigations suggest that the tow truck driver may have experienced a medical issue, causing him to veer into oncoming traffic at the time of the crash. However, the investigation is still ongoing.