Sunday 17 March 2013

Pregnant Coach Dies in Pa. Bus Crash

Pregnant Coach Dies in Pa. Bus Crash
Pregnant Coach Dies in Pa. Bus Crash, The pregnant coach of the Seton Hill University women's lacrosse team was among two people killed Saturday when the bus they were on veered off the highway and crashed into a tree in southern Pennsylvania, authorities said.

Kristina Quigley, 30, who was six months pregnant with a boy, died from injuries at Penn State Hershey Medical Center, according to the Cumberland County Department of Public Safety.

"Her unborn child did not survive," the county agency said.

The 61-year-old bus driver, Anthony Guaetta, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The bus was carrying 23 people, who were players or associated with team, when it crashed, authorities said.

Three individuals -- a figure that does not include the driver, but likely includes Quigley -- were transported to Penn State Hershey Medical Center with serious injuries, the university said in a statement. Others received treatment for minor injuries, with eight going to Carlisle Regional Medical Center, seven to Harrisburg Hospital and four to Holy Spirit Hospital in Camp Hill.

According to her bio on the school's website, Quigley was in her second season as head women's lacrosse coach at Seton Hill, a Catholic university outside Pittsburgh founded by the Sisters of Charity in 1885.

A Baltimore, Maryland, native and graduate of Duquesne University, she came to Pennsylvania after starting a Division II program at Erskine College in Due West, South Carolina.

Quigley leaves behind a husband and a young son, Seton Hill said in a statement. A memorial Mass will be held in memory of her and the bus driver, and in support of all those injured, at 7 p.m. Sunday on the Pennsylvania campus.

The chartered bus was heading from Greensburg to Millersville, where the Griffins were set to take on an opponent from Millersville University in a Division II matchup slated to start at 1 p.m.

It was traveling eastbound on the Pennsylvania Turnpike when it veered off the road near Carlise, struck a guard rail, traveled 70 yards through grass and then struck a tree, said Trooper Rob Hicks, a spokesman for state police.

Rain and snow were falling when the accident occurred shortly before 9 a.m., but state police don't know yet whether the weather played a role, said Megan Silverstrim, a spokeswoman with the Cumberland County Department of Public Safety.

The bus was owned and operated by Pennsylvania-based Mlaker Transportation, which issued a statement Saturday saying it "is cooperating fully with police, officials from Seton Hill University and others to assist the student-athletes, coaches and others on the motorcoach."

The company said its been in operation for more than 40 years and "places the safe transportation of all our passengers at the highest level."

The accident was still under investigation Saturday afternoon, a state police spokesman said.

The National Safety Transportation Board is gathering information but has yet to decide whether it will investigate, said spokesman Keith Holloway.

In an unrelated incident last month, a bus carrying the University of Maine women's basketball team crashed on a highway near Boston, but no one was killed, CNN affiliate WCVB reported. The bus crossed the median and traveled into the woods next to the highway, authorities told WCVB.


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