Charter Bus Struck By Wrong-Way, Drunk Driver On Turnpike; 7 Injured

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MONROEVILLE, Pa. (KDKA) --- At least seven people, including four students, were injured after a crash involving a charter bus and an SUV on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The crash happened shortly before midnight in the westbound lanes near the Pittsburgh interchange. Traffic heading westbound was detoured off the Turnpike for hours. The lanes reopened to traffic around 2:45 a.m.

According to police, the SUV was driving the wrong way on the Turnpike. The driver, identified as Daniel Ghawaly of Florida, was also believed to be intoxicated.

A chaperone on the charter bus told KDKA-TV that it was transporting 45 students from Kouts, Indiana, and they were returning home from a senior class trip to Washington, D.C.

State police said five people on the bus and Ghawaly were taken to Forbes Regional Hospital for evaluation. The chaperone on the bus later told KDKA-TV an additional chaperone was also taken to the hospital and that four of the injured people on the bus are students.

Those on the charter bus who were not injured were staying at a nearby Holiday Inn while trip organizers worked to get another bus.

The charter bus is owned by Cavallo Bus Lines, which operates out of Indiana and Missouri. The town of Kouts is located in northwestern Indiana, about 50 miles southeast of Chicago.