Coroner: Electrocution caused driver's death in fiery Beaver County school bus crash

An Ellwood City man was electrocuted when the school bus he was driving struck a utility pole and caught fire Friday in North Sewickley Township.

Beaver County Coroner David J. Gabauer has ruled Timothy VanKirk’s death accidental, caused by high-voltage electrocution.

Beaver County dispatchers said the crash occurred around 2:45 p.m. Friday at Foster and Mercer roads.

No kids were on the Riverside School District bus, dispatchers said.

VanKirk was in his first year as a driver with district transportation contractor First Student and was making a practice run of his route before the start of student classes on Monday, township police Chief Jeff Becze said.

Investigators aren’t sure why the bus crashed into the pole as it was headed west on Foster, Becze said. “There were no skid marks leading up to the pole,” he said.

The crash snapped off the pole and caused high-tension lines to fall onto the bus. “A witness said some lines had come down off the bus, and a couple of people were yelling for (VanKirk) to stay in the bus,” Becze said.

VanKirk had a hearing problem, according to family members, and may not have heard the shouted warnings, Becze said.

“He walked off the bus, and the ground was energized with the electricity,” he said. “Witnesses said it actually caught the tires on fire.

“Ultimately, it’s a sad situation.”

“This is certainly tragic,” First Student spokesman Chris Kemper said in a statement released to news partner WPXI-TV. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of this driver.”