Van in US carrying mentally disabled on zoo trip crashes; 5 dead, 7 injured
By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
A tractor-trailer slammed into a van carrying mentally disabled people on a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo, flipping it onto its side, crushing it against a building and killing five people on Thursday.
Witnesses told investigators the van stopped at an intersection and then pulled right in front of the semi on a rural highway. Crews worked for several hours Thursday to remove all the bodies from the van. Seven people were injured.
The accident happened on Thursday morning about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Pittsburgh, minutes after the van had left a group home.
Three residents of the group home and two staff members were killed. The six other people in the van - all residents - were taken to hospitals. The tractor-trailer driver was treated at a hospital and released.