Zoning Board Hears Testimony On Mined Land

2 W-b Cops Deny Report They Quit Training 
New Wilkes-barre Officers Joseph R. Mangan And Charles Casey Say They Are
Continuing The Program At The State Police Academy In Hershey.

By STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@leader.net
 Monday, January 22, 2001 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 1A 





More than 30 people were injured, two seriously, when a tour bus traveling
from Wilkes-Barre to Atlantic City collided with a snowplow and plunged down a
shallow ravine Sunday morning. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The crash occurred on Interstate 476 at the Chemical Road exit in Plymouth
Meeting, just south of the Pennsylvania Turnpike at about 10:30 a.m. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Auto Bus, the bus line involved in the crash, is a Mountaintop company
owned by Edward Deets. The bus was carrying 31 passengers who booked the tour
through the Italian American Citizen's Club in the Hudson section of Plains
Township, said Bill Keil, Auto Bus operations manager. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 ``I was at the office all day answering calls from the passengers' family
members and friends,'' Deets said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The driver of the snowplow - under contract with the state Department of
Transportation - was trying to make a U-turn and apparently cut off the bus,
which struck the plow before traveling 30 feet off the road, state Trooper
Harvey Johnson said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 After the impact, the bus made a 90-degree right turn, crossing all three
lanes of southbound traffic, struck a guard rail, traveled down an embankment
and came to a rest facing east in a drainage ditch, state police in
Philadelphia said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said the bus driver, Robert Alan Jones, 59, of Kingston, suffered
two broken arms and two broken legs. He was transported to the University of
Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia and was in fair condition Sunday
evening, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The driver of the plow, Richard Thomas Emery, 39, of Jenkintown, suffered
head injuries, police said. No further information was available on Emery. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The 31 passengers suffered minor injuries, mostly cuts, bruises and
abrasions, and were transported to Philadelphia area hospitals, police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Keil said he and several Auto Bus employees drove a bus and several vans to
Philadelphia to bring back those stranded after the crash. Employees drove the
vans to five Philadelphia-area hospitals to transport passengers to the
replacement bus after they were released from the hospitals. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 All but Jones and one passenger, whose name Keil did not know, were driven
back to Luzerne County early Sunday evening. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Deets said Jones has worked for him for three or four years and is ``a very
fine driver ... neat, concerned, courteous.'' He said Sunday's accident is the
second major accident since the company was started in 1934, and he's thankful
that neither accident resulted in fatalities. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Auto Bus crash marks the second in two days involving an area bus
driver. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 On Saturday, 40 people were injured when a commuter bus en route to
Scranton from New York overturned and caught fire on I-80 in Allamuchy in
Warren County, N.J. One woman injured in that accident remained in critical
condition Sunday. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The bus, owned by Martz Coach Co. of Wilkes-Barre, was traveling west at
11:50 a.m. when the driver, Nicholas J. Monka, 49, of Dallas, lost control.
The bus slid sideways onto the median, where it overturned and caught fire.
State police said the fire in the engine compartment was quickly extinguished. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Monka was released from the Hackettstown, N.J., Community Hospital Sunday,
according to a hospital spokesperson. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The bus slid in snow, spun out and overturned after striking a guard rail.
The pavement was wet at the time of the accident, which might have contributed
to the crash, state police said. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In a separate incident earlier Sunday, 46 people aboard a Greyhound bus en
route to New York from Atlantic City were injured when the bus overturned on
the Garden State Parkway near Lakewood, N.J., The Associated Press reported. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Police said 41 people were treated at hospitals and five were treated at
the scene. Four were admitted to hospitals in Lakewood and Toms River, N.J. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Most of those passengers were treated and released. State police said the
injuries were mostly minor, but some of those who were hurt suffered broken
bones. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Associated Press contributed to this story. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 459-2005. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 CUTLINE: &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 AP PHOTOS &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Above, Rescue workers try to free the driver of a tour bus bound for
Atlantic City Sunday in Plymouth Meeting, Pa. More than 30 people were
injured, two seriously, when a tour bus collided with a snowplow and plunged
down a ravine on Interstate 476. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 At right, rescue workers place bus driver Robert Alan Jones, 59, of
Kingston, into the back of an ambulance. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

33 Hurt In Tour Bus Crash