LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA — A box truck driver faces citations for careless driving and driving at an unsafe speed after he failed to see stopped traffic on Route 30 East in Manheim Township Tuesday afternoon, triggering a seven-vehicle chain reaction that injured six people and involved a Cocalico School District school bus carrying students returning from a field trip.
Police were dispatched to Route 30 East at Oregon Pike at approximately 1:37 p.m. David P. Hamme, 64, of Wrightsville, York County, was driving a large box truck eastbound when traffic came to a complete stop ahead of him. Hamme allegedly failed to see the stopped vehicles and rear-ended the first car, sending it into a guardrail. He then struck a second stopped vehicle. That impact set off a chain reaction in which three more cars and a school bus were all rear-ended in succession.
Six vehicles were towed from the scene. The school bus sustained only minor damage and was able to leave on its own. No one on the bus was injured. Six people from the other vehicles were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
Initial reports indicated multiple school buses were involved. Officers on scene determined only one was in the crash. The bus was carrying Cocalico School District students on a field trip. The East Cocalico Police Department and the Cocalico School District assisted Manheim Township Police with the school bus portion of the incident.
Manheim Township Fire Rescue, Penn Medicine, and additional ambulances responded to the scene. Route 30 closed for approximately one hour.
A phone number associated with Hamme was answered by a male at a trucking company who said Hamme was not there and had no comment when asked about the crash.
All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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