Bus crash sounded like home was being ‘bombed’

A Forward Township family needs assistance after being displaced by Monday’s accident.

Joe Ferson never expected a school bus to be in his living room, but on Monday that was his reality.

The family of five – with two parents, a 15 year-old, two 11 year-olds and a dog – lost everything and is looking for help after a bus crashed into their home in Forward Township.

Emergency crews were called shortly after 3:30 p.m. Monday to the 3206 Rainbow Run Road (Route 136) home. All family members were safe and unharmed.

Ferson said his oldest daughter came home on a different bus and went upstairs. His wife was also upstairs and he and the dog were on the couch when the accident happened. His younger two children were on the way home on another bus.

“It was crazy,” Ferson said. “About five minutes later, I thought we were getting bombed like World War III was starting. It was the loudest commotion I’ve heard in my life. It was like a freight train.”

Police chief Ken Honick said he found an out-of-the-area school bus from Rittenhouse Bus Lines. There were no children on board, and the driver was inside the home when Honick arrived.

“He pushed a parked car at the residential home into the living room, and then the bus continued into the house with the car, ripping off the front porch,” Honick said.

Inside the house, the pipes were hit so there was water shooting everywhere, and Ferson thought it might be gas because of how loud it was. He eventually turned the water off and got everyone out of the house.

“When I come around the deck corner, I see it’s a school bus and my heart sinks because I immediately think it was my twins,” Ferson said, “and my neighbor next door said it was just the driver.”

Authorities shut down Rainbow Run Road in both directions from near the nearby bridge to Webster Hollow Road.

The Forward Township building inspector was called to the scene of the crash along with other local officials. The building was deemed unsafe, condemned and unable to be occupied.

“We do have people that have been displaced,” Honick said. “It actually shifted the house off of the foundation, so there is not a scenario where they can really repair what’s going on.”

Due to safety concerns, the family is unable to go back into the house to get any belongings.

Ferson said he had been worried about accidents in that area before. He said the house next door was torn down last year after being abandoned and condemned because cars were hitting the house all the time.

“I knew it was going to be a matter of time,” Ferson said. “I just prayed that my truck was in my carport at the time so nothing killed us, and thankfully it was. It was like an explosion, and I pretty much knew it was a wreck. The house came in on itself. The bottom of my floor came up, and my dog jumped into my lap.”

No official fundraiser has been set up for the family, but area residents have been calling the school district at 412896-2300 to offer help.

They are looking for size nine pants, size eight shoes and extra large tops along with clothing for the sixth-grade twins and their parents.

According to 2024 PennDOT statistics, there were 225 crashes involving a bus in Pennsylvania with 1,981 people involved and 11% that were injured.

The driver of the bus, who has not been identified, was transported by SouthEast Regional EMS to a local hospital and is not suffering life-threatening injuries. Honick said the driver is fine and was assisted from the vehicle through the rear emergency door.

The driver was distracted and traveling at an unsafe speed when he lost control of the bus, Honick added.

Rittenhouse Bus Lines, based out of 31 East End Road in Smock, is a full-service student transportation provider, according to its website. Its services include home-to-school and field trip transportation.

Carole Rittenhouse, the co-owner and treasurer/secretary of the company, said the bus line has safely transported students for over 74 years through its “quality drivers that provide excellent service,” to the school districts they serve.

“Regarding the school bus that went into the house on Rainbow Run Road on Oct. 6, the staff of Rittenhouse are working closely with the authorities in the investigation,” a statement from the company reads. “Due to the ongoing investigation, the Rittenhouse organization can not offer additional comment at this time.”

The family is living in a hotel for a few days thanks to the Red Cross, which provided backpacks full of supplies. Ferson said he hadn’t heard from the bus company as of Tuesday afternoon. He added that the driver hasn’t apologized.

“You just put a family of five with three little kids and a dog out of their house,” Ferson said. “Everything is gone. My house has been knocked off the foundation. I am not going to let them bulldoze my stuff into a dumpster. My whole life is in that house. I am getting my stuff out of that house. If there were kids on that bus, there is not a doubt in my mind that most of them would be dead right now.”