Tour Bus Driver Dead, 23 Hurt in Pa. Turnpike Crash

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June 27--A bus driver died and 23 people were injured this morning when a bus carrying about 58 Chinese and Korean tourists plowed into the back of a tractor-trailer along the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Westmoreland County.

The eastbound lanes between Donegal and Somerset were shut down for about 2-1/2 hours to accommodate the state police accident reconstruction team. The lanes reopened at 12:20 p.m., according to turnpike spokesman William Capone.

Emergency management spokesman Dan Stevens said the accident occurred about 7:20 a.m. near milepost 95, about five miles east of the Donegal interchange. The bus appeared to slam into the back of a slower moving tractor-trailer in the eastbound lanes.

The bus driver, Bo Hua Tan, 39, of New York, was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:58 a.m. by Deputy Coroner John A. Ackerman.

Excela Frick Hospital in Mt. Pleasant treated 17 bus passengers, hospital spokeswoman Robin Jennings said. Six others were treated at Somerset Hospital and released. One was airlifted to Conemaugh Memorial Hospital in Johnstown.

Jennings said two of the passengers with more serious injuries were taken by ambulance to UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Oakland. Their conditions are unknown.

Those treated at Frick suffered multiple minor injuries such as abrasions and contusions, Jennings said. They were released by 1 p.m.

Hospital officials first thought they would need to contact an interpreter to communicate with the patients, who do not speak English, but Jennings said an interpreter traveling with the group helped the staff communicate with them.

"We originally heard we could have up to 60 patients, but before summoning more staffing, we wanted a scene assessment. I believe everything is being done in-staff," she said.

The bus, operated by Mr. Ho Charter Services, Inc. of Bethlehem, was on its way from Kentucky to New York for sightseeing, according to turnpike spokesman William Capone.

The 34 uninjured passengers stood along the berm well behind the accident scene this morning while crews freed the driver. A chartered bus from Herring Motor Company took those passengers to the Somerset interchange. Another tour bus is headed from Bethlehem to transport them to New York.

State police in New Stanton, Chestnut Ridge Fire Department and other crews from Ligonier and Mt. Pleasant assisted at the scene.