FLEMING, CAYUGA CO. --
A collision between a car and a small bus resulted in 15 injuries and one death in the Cayuga County town of Fleming on Wednesday afternoon.
Police say 61-year-old Robert Lindgren of Elmira was heading north and crossed the center line on Route 34 about 2:45 p.m. He struck a bus operated by Seneca Cayuga ARC and the bus driver lost control. The bus then went off the road and into a ditch.
“It rolled over on its side and that's what caused most of the injuries, not the accident itself but the rollover,” said Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould.
All fifteen people on the bus were injured, and 73-year-old Bette Terpening of Moravia died in the crash. The Executive Director of Seneca Cayuga ARC says ARC supports people with intellectual disabilities and the people on the bus were being driven home from day programs or jobs. Many of the ARC clients were in wheelchairs and Sheriff Gould praised rescuers on the scene for acting quickly.
"The cooperation and the quick response had a lot to do with saving lives in this case because some of the people were in wheelchairs and certainly differently handicapped with disabilities and that alone - it took a lot of triage. They were triaged right at the scene,” said Gould.
Lindgren was flown to Upstate University Hospital in Syracuse. Sheriff Gould said he could be ticketed after the investigation is completed. Gould also said it does not appear alcohol was involved in the accident.
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A serious crash in Cayuga County has killed one person and sent 15 others to area hospitals with injuries.
Cayuga County Sheriff David Gould tells CNY Central that a Seneca Cayuga ARC bus carrying individuals home from day programs and jobs was involved in an accident in Fleming, which is south of Auburn. The crash took place around 2:45 p.m. on Route 34, at the intersection with Glanville Road. Police say a car driven by 61-year-old Robert Lindgren of Elmira crossed the center line and struck the bus. The bus then weny off the road and into a roadside ditch.
The crash killed 73-year-old Bette Terpening. She lived in the Howd Nursing Home in Moravia. The nursing home says it is devastated.
Lindgren was one of three people airlifted to University Hospital in Syracuse. Twelve other patients were taken by ambulance to Auburn Memorial.
Kevin Smith, the Executive Director of Seneca Cayuga ARC says the organization's first concern is for the victims and their families. He says, "It's a great sorrow and loss that we experience at the passing of one of our individuals that we serve."
