A casino tour bus traveling at a high rate of speed crashed last week on a snowy highway, injuring dozens of passengers and sending them to the hospital.
The bus, which was owned and operated by Freedom Excursions, a company out of Altoona, Pennsylvania, was reported traveling on U. S. Route 220 in Bedford County, Pennsylvania. It was on its way to the Rocky Gap Casino Resort, a gaming resort located in Cumberland, in western Maryland. The bus was carrying thirty three passengers at the time of the incident, which State Police indicate was a result of the driver going too fast on roads that were covered with snow.
According to investigators, 65-year old bus driver Terrence Harold Shultz was traveling at a high rate of speed on roads that had been receiving a steady downpour of snow all day. The driver lost control of his vehicle as a result of the slippery conditions and poor visibility and the bus crashed into an embankment. The accident happened in the middle of the afternoon, at about 2:30 p.m., when it was just moments away from crossing the Maryland border.
The impact of the crash sent the passengers flying, and many of them suffered injuries serious enough to require hospitalization. A total of 26 were taken to area hospitals by emergency responders. Three remained hospitalized while all others were treated and released.
Kathy Rogers, spokeswoman for the Western Maryland Health System, indicated that fifteen of the injured passengers had been brought to that hospital. Another eleven passengers were taken to UPMC Bedford Hospital in Pennsylvania. According to David Cubbison, director of emergency services for Bedford County where the incident took place, the accident resulted in responses and participation gfrom twenty-five EMS units from areas in the vicinity of the crash, representing four different counties.
The crash represented the second major bus crash in Pennsylvania in recent months, but one of several casino bus crashes that have been occurring across the country. Casino buses transport passengers from outlying areas for quick trips. The passengers are often older and enticed to take the trip with offers of casino credits or free meals. The injured passengers on the bus in the Rocky Gap Casino Resort crash were all aged between 49 and 70 years old. There is information available at the moment about whether charges will be filed against the driver of the tour bus.