Several Kiski Area school officials planned to ride with students on one of the district’s bus routes Friday, a day after a bus on that route was involved in a three-vehicle crash at a busy intersection in Allegheny Township.
No one was seriously injured in the crash, which happened around 8:30 a.m. at Route 56 and Hyde Park Road, according to township police Chief Dan Uncapher.
The bus had been taking 20 kindergarten to fourth grade students to North Primary School.
Uncapher said the school bus, traveling north on Hyde Park Road, had a green light when it went through the intersection and was struck by a pickup.
That pickup caught fire and was “fully engulfed by the time we got there,” the chief said.
The bus continued forward and hit a second pickup that had been sitting at a red light, Uncapher said.
Neither pickup driver nor the bus driver were injured. Uncapher did not identify the drivers, citing the ongoing crash investigation.
EMS crews treated students and drivers at the scene.
Kiski Area Superintendent Jason Lohr said parents of the students on the bus were notified and allowed to take their children home from the crash scene.
Several students went to school after the crash. Lohr said a counselor, principal and resource officer were “keeping an extra set of eyes on them” during the school day, Lohr said.
Those officials planned to ride along with students on that route Friday.
“It was a traumatic experience, for sure,” Lohr said of the crash. “Kids are resilient. I couldn’t script a better response.”
Lohr said district personnel was able to arrive at the scene about 10 minutes after the initial call. He complimented the work of first responders and students, and thanked parents and guardians for their patience.
Uncapher also lauded the actions of the bus driver and the students for how they handled the emergency situation. The elementary students were able to use the bus emergency exits to get to safety.
Lohr said the district has two bus evacuation drills in the beginning of the school year and another in March to prepare students for emergency situations like the one that happened Thursday. Drivers for Smith Bus Co., which covers Kiski Area School District, are “well-trained” for such incidents, he said.
All vehicles were towed from the scene. Authorities cleared the scene shortly after 10 a.m.
Jay Walters of Allegheny Township said he was dropping off his grandson at school Thursday morning when he saw smoke.
“I turned the corner, and it was like an inferno,” he said. “I thought a business was on fire, that’s how bad the smoke was.”
A former volunteer for Hilltop Hose in Harrison, Walters praised the emergency response from police and fire.
“The response guys, they definitely were on it,” he said.
