Oil City Bus Driver’s Quick Reaction Averts Tragedy

Scott Shindledecker

Scott Shindledecker

Published December 16, 2017 5:40 am
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OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) — It could have ended so much differently.

As a school bus hauling the Oil City High School varsity wrestling team crested a hill on Route 6 outside of Union City Wednesday afternoon, driver Ed Hynes, (pictured above with his wife, Patricia) saw an out-of-control tractor-trailer headed in their direction.

It could have resulted in a tragedy, not to mention so close to Christmas.

But, Hynes was determined not to let an inevitable accident become a disaster.

Hynes didn’t have many options and very little time to make a decision as the jack-knifed truck headed their way; however, he clearly made the correct choice as he steered the bus into a ditch off the right-hand side of the road as the truck hit the front of the bus where Ed sat.

Ed’s son Tim, a former Oil City resident who now lives in Knox, received a call around 5:00 p.m. from his mother about the accident.

He quickly called his dad, finding he was hurt, but not suffering life-threatening injuries.

While Ed suffered a broken leg, none of the wrestlers and coaches were injured.

Tim wanted to share more details about the accident and the man he has long considered a hero.

“He yelled to the wrestling team and the coaches to hold on and put the bus in the ditch to the right side of the road and positioned ‘himself’ in the front of the bus toward the semi,” Tim said. “He said he did this because if he just put the bus in the ditch the truck would have hit the middle of the bus injuring the students on board.”

“But, if he pointed the front of the bus at the oncoming semi he would get hit and not them. It was a split-second decision that could have cost him his life. But he said,’any bus driver would have done the same.’”

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Tim explained that the front of the semi hit the front of the bus causing the tire of the bus to pin his his dad’s leg against the steering column which then hit him in the chest.

The front windshield of the bus then came through smacking him in the face.

“After seeing my dad today, and asking him how he was all he could say was. ‘Are the kids on the wrestling team OK?’”

“Not worried about his broken leg or any other injury he might have suffered. No, he was worried about the wrestling team and the coaches,” Hynes said.

Tim believes his dad’s experience as a UPS driver for the better part of four decades made a huge difference in how Wednesday’s crash turned out.

“My dad drove for UPS for 36-1/2 years and is no stranger to driving a truck in the snow. I know that he has told me over the past two days that anyone else would have done the same. But, I know that he is a skilled driver, and if it wasn’t for him, this accident could have been a lot worse,” Tim said. “I am very proud of him and wanted to share his story to let everyone know he is a hero, not just to me and my family anymore.”

Tim said his dad is doing great and is in high spirits.

“He said his leg is only in pain if he tries to put weight on it, stand up. I should say too that he broke his fibula. The doctor at Hamot had said it was a clean break that would heal as long as he stays off it another six to eight weeks,” Tim said. “They said yesterday that he may need to go to transitional care for a few days to help him learn to walk with one leg before he can go home.”

Ed retired from UPS in November 2015 and started driving bus in early 2016.

“My mom Patricia, and my dad have been married for 33 years,” Tim said.

“My brother Sean, 30, who now lives in Frederick, Maryland, and I are their sons. I live in Knox with my wife Kristie and our eight-week-old son, Andrew.”

 src=“My dad loves going to casinos and is a huge Pirates fan and loves to go to the games. He also loves his dog, Frankie, the wiener dog. He is a proud new grandpa and can’t wait to see his grandson and take him to Pirates games.”

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