STATE
PHILADELPHIA — A Greyhound bus struck a tractor-trailer early Wednesday on Interstate 80 in central Pennsylvania, killing a woman, critically injuring four other people including the bus driver and sending dozens to the hospital, authorities said.
Trooper Matthew Burrows of the state police barracks in Milton said the bus was extensively damaged when it hit the rear end of a flatbed trailer that was hauling garbage at about 1:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes of I-80 in Union County's White Deer Township.
Greyhound spokeswoman Alexandra Pedrini said 38 of the 49 passengers transported to five hospitals were treated and released by late Wednesday afternoon, and then placed on replacement buses to their final destination. She said the bus driver, Sabrina Anderson, 42, was one of the four people in critical condition.
The bus was heading from New York City to Cleveland. Anderson has been with the company for more than 12 years, Pedrini said.
The section of I-80 where the crash occurred was shut down for about 15 hours.
POINT MARION — A Western Pennsylvania police department has paid $65,000 to settle a lawsuit from a man who was arrested last year for using his cell phone to audio record an officer.The American Civil Liberties Union of Pennsylvania represented Gregory Rizer in the case.The suit alleged that the Point Marion Police Department filed charges against Rizer after he complained about an officer who confiscated his cell phone and detained him for recording the officer's aggressive questioning of his disabled friend. Point Marion is about 70 miles south of Pittsburgh.The charge was withdrawn by the district attorney and the cell phone was returned, but without the recording.The ACLU says they hope the case educates other police departments about the right of citizens to record police officers on the job.
BEAVER — A Western Pennsylvania man slated for trial next week in a toddler's death has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and been sentenced to prison.Timothy Kay, 26, of Ambridge was sentenced Wednesday in Beaver County Court to about one to two years following the plea.Kay was charged with homicide in the October 2012 death of 2-year-old Dominic Neumeyer. He told police the child was in a room with two other toddlers and he heard a thud and found the boy unconscious.Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Popovich said the case was based largely on medical evidence, and three specialists disagreed on the cause of death. She said the evidence didn't support an intentional act.Defense attorney Ronald Rojas has called the child's death a tragic accident.
