Four students and a driver were injured Thursday morning when a school van crashed into the Eat’n Park restaurant on William Penn Highway in Murrysville, according to authorities.
The 7 a.m. incident involved a van contracted from A.J. Myers & Sons transportation company that was carrying five high school students along with the driver, according to Tina Gillen, a spokeswoman for the Franklin Regional School District.
Murrysville police Chief Thomas P. Seefeld said the van was traveling through the Village of Murrysville shopping plaza when the driver of another vehicle applied the brakes in front of it, causing the van driver to swerve to avoid a collision.
“The operator of the school minivan stated that he attempted to apply the brakes but instead hit the gas pedal,” Seefeld said. “The minivan traveled through the lot and into the Eat’n Park restaurant building.”
Four students suffered injuries and were transported to Forbes Regional Hospital, Seefeld said. A fifth student and the driver were not injured.
“There were no customers inside Eat’n Park at the time of the crash,” the chief said. “There were a couple workers inside, but none were injured.”
All of the injuries were minor, but the students were sent to the Monroeville hospital “out of an abundance of caution,” Gillen said.
Information about the extent of damage to the building was not immediately available. Photographs of the wreck posted on social media show the impact created a gaping hole in the building and the entire van ended up inside.
Emergency responders had to clear debris that fell around the vehicle to remove the occupants.
The restaurant was scheduled to open for the day just as the accident happened.
Courtney Caprara, a marketing manager for Eat’n Park, said it is unclear when the store will reopen.
“We will reopen when cleared to do so by local safety officials. No team members or guests inside the restaurant were hurt,” she said.
“We wish the students and the van driver a very quick recovery,” she added.
Seefeld said police are continuing to investigate the crash.
