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Police investigating what caused Pa. bus crash that killed pregnant lacrosse coach, driver

By: Kevin Begos, The Associated Press

Sunday, Mar. 17, 2013 at 10:28 AM | Comments: 0

Authorities investigate a passenger bus crash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike on Saturday, March 16, 2013 near Carlisle, Pa. Lacrosse players from Seton Hill University and three coaches were among the 23 people aboard when the bus crashed at about 9 a.m., turnpike spokeswoman Renee Colborn said. It's not clear what caused the crash, but state police were investigating, said Megan Silverstram of the Cumberland County public safety department. (AP Photo/The Patriot-News, Joe Hermitt)

CARLISLE, Pa. - Police are investigating what caused a bus carrying a college women's lacrosse team to veer off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and crash into a tree, killing a pregnant coach, her unborn child and the driver.

Seton Hill University team players and coaches were among 23 people aboard when the bus crashed Saturday morning. The team was headed to an afternoon game at Millersville University, about 50 miles from the crash site in central Pennsylvania.

Head coach Kristina Quigley, 30, of Greensburg died of her injuries at a hospital, Cumberland County authorities said. Quigley was about six months pregnant and her unborn son didn't survive. The bus driver, Anthony Guaetta, 61, of Johnstown, died at the scene.

The other passengers were taken to hospitals as a precaution; two passengers were still being treated Saturday night.

Twenty year old Emily Fagan of Calgary was among those injured. She was reportedly released from hospital after being treated for a concussion and knee injury.

The front left side of the bus was shorn away, and the vehicle rested upright about 70 yards from the road at the bottom of a grassy slope.

Police couldn't immediately say what had caused the crash.

Both Saturday's game and a Sunday home game were cancelled after the crash, and Seton Hill, a Catholic liberal arts school of about 2,500 students near Pittsburgh, said a memorial Mass was planned for Sunday night on campus. The school is also offering grief counselling to students.

Duquesne University women's lacrosse coach Mike Scerbo remembered Quigley as a warm, outgoing person who immediately impressed him when he hired her to be an assistant during the 2008 season.

Quigley, a Duquesne alum, spent just one season under Scerbo before moving to South Carolina to start Erskine College's NCAA Division II program.

"In that time, I really saw how much passion she had to be a coach, and how much she enjoyed working with the kids," Scerbo said. "She was a teacher, and she wanted to help kids grow and learn, not just about the sport, but about life."

She spent three years at Erskine before taking the top job at Seton Hill for the 2012 season. She stayed in touch with Scerbo, often seeking his guidance and showing up at the Duquesne alumni game.

"She was a very happy person, very passionate about life, about her players, about her job and most importantly about her family," Scerbo said.

Quigley, a native of Baltimore, was married and had a young son, Gavin, the school said.

The bus operator, Mlaker Charter & Tours, of Davidsville, Pa., is up-to-date on its inspections, which include bus and driver safety checks, said Jennifer Kocher, a spokeswoman for the state Public Utility Commission, which regulates bus companies.

The agency's motor safety inspectors could think of no accidents or violations involving the company that would raise a red flag, she said, though complete safety records were not available Saturday.

On Tuesday, another bus carrying college lacrosse players from a Vermont team was hit by a sports car that spun out of control on a wet highway in upstate New York, sending the bus toppling onto its side, police said. One person in the car died.

(With files from The Canadian Press)

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