1969 — Dec 14, Order of Eastern Star chartered bus skids off icy road, Gap ~Lancaster, PA–7

–7 Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. “Seven Women Killed…Chartered Bus Skid…” 12-15-1969.
–7 Lancasteronline.com. “7 killed, 34 hurt when tour bus flipped on icy road here in 1969.” 12-15-2019.
–7 The Derrick, Oil City, PA. “Probe Bus Crash That Killed 7, Injured 34.” 12-16-1969, pp. 1-2.

Narrative Information

Dec 15: “Gap, Pa. (AP) — “‘We thought we were going to get hit. We still can’t get it out of our minds,’ said a witness to the bus tragedy here in which seven were killed and 34 injured. A chartered bus with 40 members and guests of the Order of the Eastern Star left Philadelphia Sunday to take Christmas gifts to the aged at the Masonic Home of Pennsylvania in Elizabethtown.

“At 10:57 a.m. that mission of good will ended in tragedy. The bus skidded off snow-covered U.S. 30 and toppled into an abandoned farm field.

“G. Robert Eby, 40, of Gap was driving in the opposite direction with his wife, Ethel and three youngsters. The bus neared and skidded. ‘We thought we were going to get hit,’ said Mrs. Eby. Eby veered off the eastbound lane and ran into a field to avoid a collision. The Ebys turned in their seats and saw the bus spin counter clockwise in the road and strike a power pole; plunge down a three-foot embankment and topple onto its left side in a field. ‘We saw sparks fly when it hit the pole,’ Mrs. Eby said. ‘All we could think of then was whether it was a busload of children.’ The Ebys ran to the nearby home of Frank Patterson, and called Gap firemen. The Patterson’s kitchen clock had stopped at 10:57. Electric power in the immediate area was knocked out.

“Rescue units from 12 area communities rushed to the scene. ‘They did a wonderful job,’ said Charles A. McGrath, disaster chairman of the Coatesville branch of the American Red Cross. ‘They got the people out in nothing flat. They broke windows and forced open doors. They put a ladder to the top of the bus and pulled some people out that way.’ ‘I saw quite a few accidents,’ McGrath said, ‘but nothing ever of this severe nature.’….

“The 34 injured were taken to Lancaster General, Osteopathic in Lancaster, and Coatesville hospitals. Twenty-four remain hospitalized, reported in fair to poor conditions….

“Trooper David Fisher, Lancaster State Police, said the hill is a winter trouble spot. ‘We’ve had a considerable amount of accidents at that place, including fatalities through the years, especially under snow conditions.’ There was a three-inch snow accumulation on the highway at the time of the accident, he said….’” (Indiana Evening Gazette, PA. “Seven Women Killed, 34 Injured in Chartered Bus’ Skid…” 12-15-1969.)

Dec 16: “Gap, Pa. (AP) – A three-way probe was under way Tuesday here and in Philadelphia into a chartered bus crash that killed seven women and injured thirty four other persons. Teams of investigators from the state police and the state Highways Department trudged along snow-covered, mile-long Gap Hill. Highways Secretary Robert Bartlett said his department’s team of experts were looking into weather and roadway conditions at the time of the fatal crash in an effort to determine ‘whether the highway conditions contributed to the crash.’

“In Philadelphia, Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, owners of the bus, had its experts go over and over the damaged bus in an effort to determine whether a defect had caused it to plunge down an embankment on U.S. 30 and overturn. An authority spokesman said a preliminary examination indicated all mechanical and structural equipment was functioning properly at the time of the accident. SEPTA officials delved deeper into the bus crash at the direction of the state Public Utility Commission.

“The SEPTA spokesman said Trenton-Philadelphia Coach Co. had logged more than 5 million miles without a fatality before Sunday’s crash. Trenton-Philadelphia, formerly a subsidiary of the Philadelphia Transportation Co., was acquired by SEPTA in its takeover of PTC in September 1968.

“The chartered bus was carrying 40 passengers, members and guests of a Philadelphia Order of the Eastern Star chapter to the Masonic Home of Pennsylvania at Elizabethtown. The group carried Christmas gifts for residents of the home.

“The accident occurred as the bus was proceeding down steep Gap Hill, about 14 miles east of Lancaster, in a wind-blown snowstorm that already had put four inches of snow on the ground.

“Killed in the crash were:

Julia Mencing, 54, of Philadelphia.
Oga Klub, 48, of Philadelphia.
Doris Freeland, 49, of Philadelphia.
Florence Gundhard, 67, of Philadelphia.
Edith Zecher, 83, of Philadelphia.
Dorothea Mason, 50, of Elkins Park.
Ruth W. Straub, 25, Malvern.

“State police said all the women killed were seated next to windows of the bus. Two of the victims were thrown out of the windows and pinned beneath the vehicle when it toppled into a field.

“Twenty-seven of those injured were hospitalized. The other seven were treated in area hospitals and released.” (The Derrick, Oil City, PA. “Probe Bus Crash That Killed 7, Injured 34.” 12-16-1969, p. 1.)

Sources

Indiana Evening Gazette, Indiana, PA. “Seven Women Killed, 34 Injured in Chartered Bus’ Skid Mishap.” 2-15-1969, 15. http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=115739951

Lancasteronline.com (Kim Gomoll). “7 killed, 34 hurt when tour bus flipped on icy road here in 1969.” 12-15-2019. Accessed 3-22-2022 at: https://lancasteronline.com/features/7-killed-34-hurt-when-tour-bus-flipped-on-icy-road-here-in-1969-lancaster/article_b228739e-1d23-11ea-ab75-33c263f6cf3f.html

The Derrick, Oil City, PA. “Probe Bus Crash That Killed 7, Injured 34.” 12-16-1969, pp. 1-2. Accessed 3-22-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oil-city-derrick-dec-16-1969-p-1/