School bus driver involved in last week's crash has died, Mars Area School District says
In a letter sent to families on Thursday afternoon, the Mars Area School District informed families that the bus driver from a crash last week has died.
"It is with a deep sorrow and a heavy heart that we inform you of the tragic passing of William "Bob" Miller, our beloved bus driver, who was involved in a recent bus accident," the letter read.
Last Thursday morning, eight Mars Area elementary students and a driver were sent to the hospital after a school bus slammed into a tree in Butler County.
The crash happened on Three Degree Road around 8:30 a.m., and there were about 20 students total on the bus at the time when the bus left the road and slammed into a tree near the community park.
Two students, as well as Miller, were transported from the scene, and eight students were treated at the hospital.
All of the students were released after being treated but Miller remained at Allegheny General Hospital.
The district's letter went onto say that Miller was a driver for 10 years.
"He was much more than just a bus driver; he was a friend, a familiar face, and a trusted presence on the road. His passing is a loss that will be felt deeply by all who knew him," the letter continued.
Parents praise mom who jumped into action
One of the kids who was supposed to be on the bus was the son of Kelley Baumgartel. As they were waiting for it to get to his stop, she saw it swerve off the road and hit the tree.
After calling 911, she jumped into action and found some of the children on board had begun to open the emergency door.
"There were clearly some injuries that were observable," she said. "Then there were some other kids on the bus that couldn't get off. So there was another parent, a dad, who stopped and he was able to physically get on the bus and help more."
Baumgartel said she was unable to get to Miller, but added that something seemed to be wrong.
"It's interesting, I actually noticed, sitting here and watching the bus, the driver's body position looked different," she recalled.
One parent, Patrick McNulty, praised her efforts calling her a hero.
"It's great, she's a hero, really, for helping out the best you could given the situation," he said.
Last week's crash was the Mars Area School District's sixth in seven years
The crash last week was the sixth bus crash in the district in the past seven years.
Four of them were minor and no students were hurt.
In 2018, a driver was charged but later found not guilty for a crash that happened in a construction zone in Adams Township. In that crash, six students had to be taken to the hospital via ambulance and another 22 were taken in another bus to be observed, but none were seriously hurt.
