BUTLER TOWNSHIP, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Butler Township Police are investigating a crash that left a man seriously injured after a motorcycle slammed into a school bus Monday afternoon.
Police say the crash happened at about 2:20 p.m. Monday at the intersection of North Hunter Highway, State Route 309, and Corporate Drive.
Authorities say a preliminary investigation revealed a 2023 Kawasaki motorcycle, driven by 22-year-old Hunter M. Ferst from Drums, was traveling south on North Hunter Highway when he struck the right rear section of a school bus that was turning left onto Corporate Drive.
Officials say the bus, owned by Rohrer LLC, was driven by 56-year-old Hazleton resident Michelle K. Planutis.
Rohrer Bus gives transportation for the Hazleton Area School District, police explained.
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Authorities say Ferst suffered serious injuries in the crash and was flown to Geisinger Wyoming Valley for treatment.
None of the 30 people on the bus, of which 27 were students, the driver, and two adult staff, were injured in the crash, according to police.
Officials say the bus was on the way to pick up more students on their way to an out-of-town sporting event.
After the incident, police say the students were taken to the nearby Hazleton Area Academy of Sciences, where they got a secondary evaluation and alternate transportation was arranged.
Traffic in the southbound lane of Hunter Highway was detoured while authorities investigated the crash, according to Butler Township Police.
Conyngham Borough Police, Valley Regional Fire, and Hazle Township Fire and Rescue assisted in the incident, according to police.
Officials say the Rohrer Bus Company and the Hazleton Area School District are also fully cooperating in the investigation.
Police explain that the crash is still under investigation.
