A school bus crash in Beaver County on Saturday morning resulted in at least 21 people being taken to hospitals after an incident involving a bus filled with Aliquippa Junior High football players. According to WPXI, the bus, which was en route to a game at Pine-Richland, reportedly had 25 students and several adults on board, including two coaches and a bus driver.
Following the crash, a spokesperson for UPMC revealed that 20 students were taken to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh, with the majority released save for one who required surgery, and another two individuals were admitted to Allegheny General Hospital, WTAE reported. The 12-year-old football player Brandon Rue recounted the incident being "terrifying" after the bus driver lost control while going downhill, resulting in Rue sustaining a collarbone fracture from the collision, which also left another friend of his with a broken leg.
The crash prompted an immediate response from the community, with an impromptu support gathering at an Aliquippa playground where players, coaches, and community members joined in solidarity; a teacher from the Aliquippa School District, Autumn Ivy, helped organize this event to provide a platform for communal grief and support, even as some of the children bore the physical marks of their ordeal.
The cause of the crash is still being investigated. While the community begins to heal, Aliquippa School District Superintendent Phillip Woods has canceled all junior high football practices and games for the next week to give students time to recover. Mental health support will be available when school resumes, with extra help from the local government and police.
