3 passengers dead after charter bus crashes in Pennsylvania, state police say

Police and rescue workers arrive on the scene of a bus crash late Sunday, Aug. 6, 2023, in Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County, Pa. The crash occurred between a passenger vehicle and charter bus carrying up to 50 passengers causing multiple fatalities and injuries. (Pennsylvania State Police via AP)

LOWER PAXTON TOWNSHIP, Pa. — A charter bus carrying up to 50 people crashed and hit another vehicle on a Pennsylvania interstate, killing three bus passengers, state police said.

The wreck happened during heavy rain around 11:50 p.m. Sunday on southbound Interstate 81 just north of Harrisburg, state police said.

The bus drove off the roadway, struck an embankment and rolled onto its right side before hitting the back of a car that was stopped in the right lane of traffic, according to a crash report.

The three passengers were declared dead at the scene, the police report said, and others suffered injuries that ranged from minor to severe.

Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center received 28 patients from the crash, spokesperson Scott Gilbert said in an email. As of Monday morning, two people were admitted as inpatients, 16 were being treated in the emergency department and 10 had been discharged. He said the hospital was told several other people were taken to another hospital.

A Dauphin County spokesperson said information about the people who died was not immediately available through the coroner's office.

"This is considered a mass casualty incident," Trooper Megan Frazer said. "We do have eight ambulances that assisted with us, as well as lifeline (emergency response), just because of how many people were involved and the amount of injuries."

The identities of the owner and driver of the bus have not been released. Frazer said Monday morning that more details about the wreck might not be released until Tuesday.