'Thankful I’m still alive': Pennsylvania junior high football team bus crash injures 20
A Pennsylvania junior high school football team was about 15 minutes away from its first scrimmage of the season when its bus crashed Saturday morning, sending more than 20 people to the hospital. It happened in Economy Borough, about 20 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.Brandon Rue, a seventh grader at Aliquippa Junior High School, was one of the 25 players on board, along with two coaches and the driver.“I remember him swerving into a pole and, like, me flying up. I hit, I think, I hit something off of the ceiling,” Rue said.Rue broke his collarbone in the crash. Eighteen other players and the bus driver were treated and released from the hospital with varying injuries. “It was a scary moment. I’m just glad that everyone survived,” Rue said. “I’m just thankful I’m still alive.”One teammate is still at UPMC Children’s Hospital in critical condition, undergoing surgery.“Most of them is like family to me. They’re all really close friends,” Rue said. Defensive coordinator Larry Walker Jr. was traveling three minutes ahead of the bus when he got the call. “Lot of them haven’t even hit puberty yet. So, for something like this traumatic to go and happen, like, it was just unreal,” Walker said. “I can't even describe, like, how it was.”Walker responded to the scene alongside first responders from multiple jurisdictions. He wasn't able to get onto the bus because there were live wires in the road.“I see a lot of injuries, a lot of crying, a lot of emotion,” he said.The community gathered Saturday evening for a prayer service in support of the players and their families. The school and city are providing mental health services to those impacted. “Keep checking and be unapologetic. Be intentional about when you ask these young people, are you OK? How you doing? Ask the coach, how you doing?” said Aliquippa Mayor Dwan Walker at the service.The school district said a parent meeting will be held Monday at 5:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theater. The superintendent said they are working with the bus company, ABC Transit, to obtain bus video and return student belongings. All practices and games for next week have been canceled. Economy Borough police are investigating the cause of the crash. Police Chief Michael O'Brien said it did happen in a "bad bend" of the road.
