Lincoln Park performing arts student, bus driver killed in I-79 crash identified

A school bus driver and teen passenger were killed late Tuesday afternoon after the bus they were in collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 79 in Butler County.

On Wednesday afternoon, officials from Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Midland, Beaver County, identified the victims as student Brylee Walker, 14, and bus driver Lindsay Thompkins, 31.

In an automated phone message to school families, school CEO P.K. Poling described Walker as “one of our cherished students” and said Thompkins was “one of our dedicated bus drivers.”

“In addition to the loss of these two members of our school community, several other students were injured or impacted, but are making progress towards a return to full health,” Poling said in the message.

“Our entire school community is deeply saddened,” Poling said.

The two vehicles were traveling north on I-79 when the bus rear-ended the flatbed tractor-trailer near mile marker 96.6 in Muddy Creek Township, according to state police.

Multiple medical helicopters and ambulances responded to the scene. Several injured students were rushed to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and UPMC Presbyterian Hospital for treatment for moderate to severe injuries.

Uninjured students on the bus were reunited with their parents or guardians.

The bus was taking the students home from Lincoln Park.

The charter school enrolls more than 600 students in grades 7 to 12 from across Western Pennsylvania and neighboring areas. Founded in 2006, the school has departments in music, theatre, dance, media arts, writing and publishing, pre-law and the arts and health science and the arts. Its high school program allows students to earn college credits.

“Words cannot express the true gravity of this tragic event,” officials posted early Wednesday on the school’s website. “Our heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to the two families who have lost their loved ones in this terrible tragedy.”

Poling first notified school families late Tuesday that there had been a bus crash involving some of the school’s students.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all of our students and families impacted by this,” Poling said then.

Poling said Wednesday afternoon that the school would continue to operate on its normal schedule because “we are committed to continuing to provide our students a sense of normalcy and routine, as this remains essential in times of tragedy.”

Poling said the school would have grief counselors on campus, along with school staffers and counselors, “for any students who need additional support.”

Help also would be made available during school hours via online platforms such as Zoom, he said.

The operator of the bus, Aliquippa-based R.J. Rhodes Transit, will not run its bus routes for at least the rest of this school week, Poling said. Online instruction will be available to students who don’t have transportation to get to and from Lincoln Park as a result, he said.

It’s unknown how many total students were on the bus at the time of the crash.

I-79 was shut down in the area of the crash until about 5 a.m. Wednesday while police investigated and the scene was cleared.