A charter bus carrying more than 30 high school girls and volunteers crashed Sunday afternoon, leaving dozens injured and some in critical condition.
Tremont Fire Chief Brian Eisenacher told WBRE-TV that 32 people on the trip, a retreat hosted by Lives Changed By Christ Church in Lancaster County, were transported to nearby hospitals after the bus driver lost control of the vehicle, careened through a guard rail, hit an embankment, and traveled about 50 yards into a wooded area along the highway.
“We had to pretty much work off the ladders alongside the bus to get the patients out,” he said. “Everyone pretty much was inside the bus still when we got here, and we had mostly everybody transported, probably within the hour.”
Eisenacher said at least 20 different EMS units responded to the scene of the crash.
“Incidents like this take a lot of manpower to get people out of the bus and then down into ambulances that are waiting down here,” he explained. “It takes a pile of people to get something like this accomplished.”
The accident occurred in neighboring Schuylkill County.
LCBC Pastor David Ashcraft has posted regular updates to the church website, thanking the congregation for the ways in which they are helping the girls who remain in the hospital.
“Thank you for your overwhelming support and continued prayers over these past 48 hours,” he wrote in a statement published Tuesday evening. “We continue to hear inspiring stories of how you’re being the church through this situation. For instance, in the chaos of the accident, the parents of one of the hospitalized girls shared that their daughter lost her glasses. After hearing from our staff of her need for glasses, two different eye doctors who attend LCBC raced to bring her a new pair.”
LISTEN TO TODAY’S PODCAST AND SUBSCRIBE:
“We’ve also been amazed by the number of LCBC nurses, doctors, and medical professionals who have stepped forward to pray and provide care for the girls and leaders,” he added.
Ashcraft noted 10 students and volunteer leaders remain in the hospital as they recover.
“As I’ve had the opportunity to connect with the families,” he wrote, “I’ve heard over and over again how much they appreciate the care and support they are receiving from LCBC and how much they appreciate all the prayers.”
The Pennsylvania State Police accident reconstruction and forensics unit used a drone to retrace the path of the charter bus, owned by Premier Number 1 Limousine Service in Middletown. Officials are still determining what went wrong.
LCBC has launched an accident support fund for anyone who would like to make a financial contribution to help cover the costs associated with the accident.
Please be in prayer for those injured in the crash and for their families as they assist them in their recovery.
***As the number of voices facing big-tech censorship continues to grow, please sign up for Faithwire’s daily newsletter and download the CBN News app, developed by our parent company, to stay up-to-date with the latest news from a distinctly Christian perspective.***