Neither defendant nor victims escaped tears Thursday, when a former bus driver was sentenced for driving a bus filled with senior citizens and adults with special needs into the path of a freight train.

“I made a mistake,” said defendant Frank Schaffner, who called the passengers — two of whom were killed — his “close dear friends for 2½ years.”

Schaffner, 60, of Butler pleaded guilty to two counts of involuntary manslaughter, representing each of the fatalities, and eight counts of reckless endangerment, one for each injured person. All of the charges are misdemeanors.

Butler County Judge William Shaffer sentenced Schaffner to spend a year on house arrest with electronic monitoring followed by another four years under the supervision of the county’s Intermediate Punishment Program. When that expires, Schaffner could spend up to another 11 years on probation.

He also must serve 400 hours of community service because, the judge said, “the only way you can begin to make amends is to give back to the community.”

Schaffner apologized to the courtroom, filled with a dozen family members of those who were killed or injured. Many of the families were accompanied by civil attorneys.

According to court records, Schaffner on April 26 drove a Butler Area Rural Transit bus across tracks at Evans City’s Maple Avenue crossing once without slowing or stopping on the way to pick up a passenger.

Then returning over the tracks for a second time, court records state: “It’s obvious that passengers hear and see an oncoming train. Schaffner makes no attempt to slow or stop before crossing over the railroad, nor does he look left or right. Passengers are attempting to advise Schaffner a train is coming.”

The Allegheny Valley Railroad train with two locomotives and 29 cars hit the bus broadside.

Passenger Claudette Miller, 92, of Callery, died that afternoon. Passenger John D. Burkett, 88, of Zelienople died later of his injuries.

Schaffner had no drugs or alcohol in his system. He told a police officer at the crash site that it had been foggy and one of the passengers on the bus yelled to him, then “he looked out the window and noticed the train and floored it.”

In court Thursday, Schaffner said someone yelled. “I looked up. The train wasn’t 70 feet away. I hit the accelerator. I tried to get across the tracks.”

He claimed he’d crossed the same tracks “500 plus” times, and “there was never a train.”

Schaffner, an Army veteran, said he relives the collision three or four times a week and believes he will be under psychiatric care forever.

“God I am sorry. I’ll live with this the rest of my life, and it’s not half the pain these people have to live with,” he said.

Ten of the victims’ family members spoke in court, telling memories of their loved ones or nightmares they face now.

For example, Burkett’s family described him as active in the community, a hard worker who had run his family’s milk hauling business for many years and been the strength to those who loved him.

They reflected on his love of antiquing, vacationing, feeding the birds and his lap cat, Rudy.

“It is so quiet in the house without John. His presence gave me peace,” said his wife of 66 years, Mary Lou Burkett. “Words cannot express my sorrow and feelings. I never thought I would be a widow.”

Burkett, who also enjoyed “B.S.ing” or playing bingo with the fellows at VA Butler Healthcare, was on his way there when he got on the bus that morning. Instead, they said, he spent “five miserable days in the trauma unit” after the collision.

“He fought hard for his life because he enjoyed life,” said his daughter Judy Hannas.

Miller’s family noted that she had been giving to her family as well as her community, formerly serving as postmaster and on town council, and she was a Sunday school teacher.

She also loved baking cupcakes and sewed each of her immediate family members a quilt.

“I am the woman I am today because of her,” said granddaughter Sandra Scheller. “She loved, above all, life.”

In contrast, the family said their last memories are saying goodbye to a vibrant woman who had been crushed and bloodied by the bus collision.

“A broken doll,” Scheller said.

For some of those who survived the crash, there are injuries that will never heal, both physical and emotional.

Joanne Boyles said her husband Jameshad been an active and loving part of her life and private show dog kennel business. But the injuries he incurred to his head, lungs and ribs, have caused him to move into a skilled nursing home.

“He will never be coming home,” she said.

James Boyles learned to walk again but requires 24-hour care to eat or to turn on the television.

“I have lost my husband and best buddy of 57 years,” she said.

For other victims, reminders such as the sound of a train still cause extreme distress. Like John Burgard, who’d once earned Special Olympics medals for swimming and bowling “and could do the twist to the floor,” said his mother, Frances Burgard.

John Burgard had gotten on the bus that day to go to a job at PARC that he enjoyed. He was critically injured, including a broken leg, and to this day still uses a walker and “is still fearful of trains. I believe he will never be able to be active again,” said his mother, who witnessed the collision.

“We watched John get on the bus as we always did. And we were watching when we heard the train coming and knew it was going to hit the bus. I screamed to my husband, ‘It’s going to hit and kill all those people.’”

The judge did not order Schaffner to pay restitution. The lawyers said there are civil matters pending, and the amount of restitution ordered in the criminal case would be set later.

Schaffner’s attorney, Mike Pawk of Butler, said his client is no longer driving a bus but works part-time at Harbor Freight. Pawk said Schaffner, a U.S. Army medic from 1976 to 1979, is under treatment for depression, anxiety and insomnia at the VA.

“He deeply regrets everything that happened that day,” Pawk said.