On Friday morning, October 19, emergency crews were called to the scene of an accident involving two school buses, a tractor trailer, several cars, and ultimately a home in Pittsburgh’s West End.
Pittsburgh police commander Scott Schubert said that nine cars were involved in the accident, which took place on the West End’s Greentree Road.
There were two serious injuries in the accident, including a female bus driver — she was ejected from her bus in the collision. The second was a man who was also ejected from his vehicle in the accident. The two were taken to nearby Allegheny General Hospital, where they were initially classified as in critical condition, though they have both since been downgraded to serious condition and are recovering, according to Schubert.
According to first responders and witnesses at the scene, it was like something out of an action movie.
According to witness Tony Lutz, “It was like chaos. I looked over and the tractor-trailer was coming down the uphill lane. It had to be moving 60 to 70 mph, just running into so many cars.”
Another witness, Brendan Garvey, said, “I called 911. I didn’t know what to even say to them it was that bad,” Garvey said further that it was like watching a nightmare.
Witnesses said that Garvey and Lutz, who both work near the accident site, immediately went into action trying to help the people involved.
One of the school buses had no passengers; the other had two children on it at the time of the accident. One was uninjured; the other was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Apparently, the driver of the tractor-trailer lost control of his semi and crashed into the other vehicles in a cascade of collisions. Details aren’t entirely clear, but it also appears the truck ultimately stopped by running into a home just off the road. The driver of the truck, of ABC Freight from Hollywood, FL, was taken into police custody following the accident.