Freedom Transit bus crashes into storage building in Charleroi
CHARLEROI – Two people were transported to an area hospital Thursday morning after a Freedom Transit bus crashed into a building in Charleroi.
Borough fire Chief Robert Whiten Jr. said a bus carrying 10 passengers was traveling down Garr Street shortly before 7 a.m. when it crashed into a storage building at 11th Street and Upper Crest Avenue.
“They’re lucky that the bus stopped in there,” Whiten said at the scene. “They’re probably halfway through (the building), and there’s about a 20-foot dropoff from there to the back, referring to a steep hillside behind the building. “They’re lucky they didn’t go through the building and out the back. That would have been a real mess.”
Sheila Gombita, Freedom Transit executive director, said an investigation will be conducted by Tri County Access of Donora, the company that owns the vehicle that she described as a 12-passenger paratransit vehicle.
“They’re responsible for conducting the investigation and reporting back to us,” Gombita said. Freedom Transit is operated by the Washington County Transportation Authority.
Gombita said the recommendation is that the driver, who has not been identified, does not operate a company vehicle while the investigation is conducted. She said that she believed the bus driver was doing well.
Whiten wasn’t sure if a mechanical issue caused the vehicle to careen out of control down the hill.
He said all of the passengers on board suffered some type of injury but none appeared to be serious. Two of the 10 were transported to Penn Highlands Mon Valley hospital.
Whiten said the accident scene “looked like a war zone” when first responders arrived.
“We had people laying all over the place,” Whiten said. “All of the debris was all over the place.” Trusses were put into place to secure the structure as emergency personnel prepared to remove the bus from the building.
“We have to disassemble the bus to get it out,” Whiten said. “He must have come down and hit it right and dragged the roof through. The only way to get it out is to get the roof off. We’re taking it off piece by piece.”
Freedom Transit is operated by the Washington County Transportation Authority.
The building was once the site of the former Toth grocery store but has been used as a storage facility for many years.
“All of the utilities except for electricity were off,” Whiten said.
Charleroi Regional Police did not return a call for additional information.
Departments with Charleroi at the scene included Lock 4, Fallowfield, Monessen No. 1, and Bentleyville. Also responding were the Washington County Haz-Mat team, Bujanowski Towing Service and three units from Rostraver West Newton Emergency Medical Services.