A consolidated lawsuit filed in the aftermath of a 2020 bus crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Mt. Pleasant that killed five people and injured about 60 will be litigated in Westmoreland County.
The state Supreme Court, in an opinion issued last fall, sided with lawyers for two dozen plaintiffs who argued for the case to be transferred from Philadelphia to Westmoreland County, where many of the potential witnesses in the case reside.
The case was officially in the local court last week.
It involves allegations of wrongful death and negligence by the company that operated a 62-passenger tour bus that crashed as it rounded a curve on the Pennsylvania Turnpike near Mt. Pleasant in the early hours of Jan. 5, 2020. It was traveling from New York City to Cincinnati.
According to a report issued in 2022 by the National Transportation Board, the bus rolled over onto its side, blocked the westbound lanes of travel and caused a FedEx tractor-trailer and a UPS truck to crash into the bus. Another passenger vehicle swerved off the highway to avoid the wreck when it was hit by a second UPS truck that careened off the roadway to avoid the pileup.
The bus driver, two bus passengers and two UPS drivers died from injuries sustained in the crash. As many as 60 others, including nearly all of the bus passengers, were hurt, some severely, according to court documents.
Lawsuits filed on behalf of two dozen plaintiffs named as defendants the tour company, Z&D Tour Inc. of New Jersey; Ohio Coach Inc., which lists its address in New York City; FedEx; United Parcel Service; and Sioux Trucking Inc. of California.
It alleges the tour bus driver was negligent as he traveled at excess speed on a dark and lightly snow-covered roadway and a FedEx driver was wearing sound-canceling headphones when he hit the bus after it had rolled onto its side.
According to court documents, volunteer fire departments from Mt. Pleasant, Youngwood, Norvelt, Kecksburg and Chestnut Ridge and 10 local ambulance companies sent first responders to the crash scene.
Plaintiffs estimated as many as 66 people, many from Westmoreland County, could be called to testify at trial.
“These, potential witnesses, in the trial court’s view, could provide material testimony, and they, like numerous others, also had stated for the record that Philadelphia represents an oppressive and vexatious venue,” according to the Supreme Court ruling.
Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Scott Mears will preside over the case. It has not been scheduled for trial.
Lawyers for the parties could not be reached for comment Friday.