Schools

School Bus Crash on Schantz Road, No Students On Board

One person was killed when the bus plowed into the Upper Macungie municipal building.

Longtime Parkland school district bus driver Kelly Smith was killed when her bus crashed into the municipal building at about 8 a.m. Monday. No students were on board when the accident happened at 8300 Schantz Road.

Police say the bus side swiped a Ford Taurus and then swerved off the road, slamming into the building. Officials say a medical episode may have affected the bus driver. No serious injuries to the car's driver or passenger were reported.

Smith, 42, was ejected from the bus.

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"She came out of the bus. I don't believe she was wearing a seatbelt," said Roger Heins, administrative sergeant of Berks-Lehigh Regional Police.

An autopsy is scheduled for tomorrow, according to Lehigh County Coroner Scott Grim.

Find out what's happening in Upper Macungiewith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Smith, who lived in Slatington, was a 10-year veteran of the school district, according to Val Strock, the district's garage foreman. Strock said Smith had just completed a run to Parkland High School and was on her way to Green Acres Mobile Home Park to pick up Jaindl Elementary School students.

The bus weighs about 18,500 pounds and is not equipped with an airbag. The only safety feature for the driver is a shoulder seatbelt.

The crash caused major damage to the Upper Macungie municipal building. The bus plowed right into the office of township  Supervisor Sam Ashmar, who was not in the building at the time. The building had opened for business at 7:30 a.m. Nobody inside was injured.

Tonight's planning board work session has been canceled. The building's telephone calls are being forwarded to an answering service.

Township Supervisor Chairman Edward Earley said the township building is closed and secured.

Township officials may bring in trailers to use as temporary office space until the building is repaired. Preliminary estimates put the damage at $300,000 to $400,000.

 


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