Team coach and unborn child die in US bus crash

Published on 18/03/2013 00:00

A ROAD trip by an American college women’s lacrosse team turned into a tragedy when their bus crashed into a tree, killing their pregnant coach, her unborn child, and the driver.

Seton Hill University team players and coaches were among the 23 people aboard when the bus veered off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and crashed just before 9am on Saturday, local time. No other vehicle was involved.

Coach Kristina Quigley, 30, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania, was flown to hospital but later died from her injuries, authorities said. Ms Quigley was about six months’ pregnant; her unborn child did not survive.

The bus driver, Anthony Guaetta, 61, of Johnstown, Pennsylvania, died at the scene.

The other passengers were taken to nearby hospitals as a precaution.

The collision sheared away the front left side of the bus, which rested upright about 70 yards from the road at the bottom of a grassy slope.

The lacrosse team was on its way to play at Millersville University, about 50 miles from the crash site.

Seton Hill, a Catholic school of about 2,500 students near Pittsburgh, said a memorial Mass would be held on campus.