Three-dozen-plus injured in I-81 bus, car and truck accident

What was intended to be a day of fun in Pottsville, Pennsylvania, turned out to be a horrific event for many young children from Hazelton Friday. The kids were aboard a school bus en route to the JFL swimming pool when the bus was involved in a multi-vehicle wreck.

More than three dozen people were injured in the car, bus and truck accident on Interstate 81 in Hazle Township, Pennsylvania Friday. Pennsylvania State Police are trying to determine the series of events and authorities do not know if the bus struck the car before or after a tractor trailer slammed into the bus.

Thirty-seven kids were taken to Hazelton General Hospital, with 11 of the children being taken into the emergency room at the hospital for immediate medical attention. Twenty-six other children were evaluated at the hospital. While obviously such an event can be terrifying for the young kids and their families, officials do not believe that any of the children suffered critical injuries.

One adult chaperone on the bus was airlifted to a hospital in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Officials say that the 30-year-old chaperone is expected to be okay, but the nature of her personal injuries and condition remains unclear. The driver of the bus and a 60-year-old woman from McAdoo, Pennsylvania who was in the passenger car were also taken to the hospital in Hazelton with undisclosed injuries.

The bus was transporting kids between the ages of 6- and 10-years-old, according to a report in the Republican & Herald. A second bus with older kids from the YMCA summer camp program apparently was not involved in the wreck. All of the children from the two buses were taken to the hospital in Hazelton, and those who did not need medical evaluation met their parents at the hospital.

The investigation continues. The sequence of events may be important in determining whether any negligence was involved, and if so, who may have been responsible for the crash.

Unfortunately, accidents can cause a great number of people to suffer injury. An accident victim who is not responsible for a wreck may face large expenses for medical care and rehabilitation—especially in an interstate accident. Those who suffer personal injury at the expense of another’s negligence may be able to recover damages for what has been lost in an accident.