UPDATED FROM AN EARLIER VERSION … UPDATED AS NEW DETAILS ARE RELEASED …
More than two dozen people were injured in a charter bus crash on Interstate 81 in Schuylkill County Sunday afternoon.
Police say there were “approximately 30” people on board the charter bus, owned by Premiere #1 Limousine, of Middletown. The driver of the bus is identified as a 37-year-old man from Lancaster.
According to a late report from WNEP-TV, the bus contained 32 people, all of whom sustained injuries. The bus was carrying high school students and other volunteers part of the Lives Changed By Christ church. They were on their way back from Manheim at a student ministry retreat, WNEP reports.
An early report from the scene from WFMZ-TV indicates 5 people are in critical condition.
Police: About 25 people hurt in Schuylkill County bus crash, 5 criticallyhttps://t.co/X9IcNF0psR pic.twitter.com/RVELu7qXuP
— 69News Traffic Alert (@wfmztraffic) September 19, 2021
According to information from State Police in Frackville, the crash happened shortly after 3 p.m. Sunday afternoon. The bus was traveling south on I-81 at that time, in the area of Exit 112 in Frailey Township. The driver of the bus lost control of the vehicle and traveled off the road. Police aren’t sure why the driver lost control behind the wheel.
The bus exited the road off the right shoulder of the road. It eventually traveled through the exit ramp area and then across Route 25, where it struck a center guide rail. The bus then hit an embankment and went about 50 yards into a wooded area where it finally stopped.
Video from the scene, from the Facebook page Norwegian Township News & Concerns showed a massive emergency response from local fire companies and paramedics. A stream of ambulances were needed to transport bus passengers from the scene to nearby hospitals.
Developing story … We’ll have more details on this crash as they become available.
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