PITTSBURGH — A man is dead after a fatal mistake while working on a school bus at Lodestar Bus Lines Inc. in New Florence.
“It’s horrific,” Trooper Steve Limani, Pennsylvania State Police public relations officer, said. “It’s a tragedy for the community, and condolences to the family.”
Police told Channel 11 that an experienced mechanic, 66-year-old Barry Barker, died tragically while working underneath a school bus Thursday morning.
“These mechanics work all year long to make sure these buses are in good condition so that our kids can travel around safely,” Limani said. “And that’s what he was doing. He was working in the capacity of his job function, and right now we don’t see anything other than this being a tragic accident.”
Police said Barker was working alone on this bus. They said the bus was having brake issues, so Barker was working on it before the school year. Unfortunately, police said, he accidentally clipped the brake line, and the bus began to roll out of the garage.
“He died basically as a consequence of some of the undercarriage and tires driving past him,” Limani said.
The bus traveled across the busy Route 711 in downtown New Florence.
“It rolled across 7/11 partially into a yard,” said Trooper Limani. “So, altogether, I would say it rolled about 75 feet total.”
According to police, no one else was injured by the bus, and it did not damage any buildings. Barker’s coworkers were alerted that the bus rolled across the road and eventually had to call state police.
“He’s been working for quite a while. He’s an experienced mechanic,” Liamni said. “So, it’s just disappointing and sad when you see someone lose their life in a job where they’ve been doing it for so long.”
Police said Barker was from Ligonier and had worked on the school district’s buses for many years.
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