A woman was injured when she lost control of her school van and crashed into a utility pole, dropping power lines onto the vehicle and briefly trapping her inside on Watters Station Road in Forward Township about 7:20 a.m. Monday. A Penn Power crew disconnected the power, allowing Evans City volunteer firefighters to rescue the woman. She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital with apparent minor injuries.

FORWARD TWP — A woman was trapped by electric lines Monday morning after the school van she was driving crashed into a utility pole along Watters Station Road.

There were no students in the vehicle. The crash closed the road between Marburger and Cashdollar roads for several hours until the wires were removed and the pole replaced.

The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was unable to leave the vehicle for about 15 minutes, authorities said, until a Penn Power crew arrived and shut off the power.

The woman, believed to be in her mid- to late-40s, suffered apparent minor injuries in the accident about 7:20 a.m. She was taken to Butler Memorial Hospital for treatment.

State police are investigating but an accident report was not immediately available.

Linda Andreassi, Seneca Valley School District communications director, said the driver is an aide for W.L. Roenigk Inc., which is one of the transportation providers for the district.

She does not drive students in her position, Andreassi noted.

A Roenigk official said the woman was driving the van from the Jefferson Township garage to the Evans City garage when the crash happened on the 300 block of Watters Station Road, about one-half mile east of Marburger Road

The van was traveling west and went off the north side of the road.

Snow on the roads could have been a factor, said Joe McCombs, chief of the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police Department, who assisted at the scene.

The van hit and snapped the pole, downing the high-tension lines.

“The power lines were on the hood and door,” said Justin Schoeffel, assistant chief of the Evans City Volunteer Fire Department. “They were hooked on the driver side mirror.”

The driver apparently saw the lines and knew to stay put.

“I talked to her through the window,” Schoeffel said. “She seemed OK and was comfortable.”

Once the power was disconnected, firefighters helped the woman out. A Quality Ambulance crew tended to her before she was taken to the hospital.

The Callery Volunteer Fire Department also assisted.