Oil City Wrestling Team’s Bus in Crash on Way to General McLane; No Wrestlers Hurt

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published December 14, 2017 3:07 am
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UNION CITY, Pa. (EYT) — The Oil City wrestling team’s bus was in an accident on Route 6 just outside of Union City on its way to a match at General McLane Wednesday afternoon.

(Photos courtesy of Genna Conklin)

According to Oil City athletic director/assistant principal Amy Highfield, the accident occurred just before 4:40 p.m. None of the wrestlers or coaches on the bus were hurt, according to Highfield, although the bus driver is being observed overnight at UPMC Hamot in Erie and has a fracture in the left leg.

Highfield credited the bus driver for avoiding a much larger catastrophe.

“Our coach said the bus was coming over a hill, and a semi-tractor trailer was jackknifed,” Highfield said. “The bus driver did a good job getting over as far as he could and actually went into a ditch, but the semi clipped the bus in the front. But, he did a really good job considering the semi was coming straight at them.”

According to Highfield, once the General McLane athletic director was notified of the accident he immediately said he would do whatever he could to help. That included General McLane’s willingness to send a bus to the scene so that the Oil City students and coaches would have some place warm to stay.

“He said he would take food, get a bus warm, whatever we needed,” Highfield said.

Highfield also said that Randy Forrest of the Cranberry Bus Company, who provides bus transportation for Oil City, had a friend who lives near Union City with another bus and that person provided transportation for the team back to Oil City.

“Our kids didn’t have to wait very long in the cold,” Highfield said.

The match was canceled.

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