Seneca Valley Students Heading to School Injured in Car Accident

A Seneca Valley student and his three teen passengers were injured during a collision Thursday morning on Route 19 near Tollgate Road in Jackson Township.

said the 17-year-old from Cranberry was driving north on Route 19 at about 7 a.m. when he collided with a Ford Taurus driven by James Bucek, 53, of Cranberry.

Officer Zeke Reed said Bucek was turning left from Gudekunst Road north onto Route 19 when he collided with the Honda Prelude driven by the teen. Bucek was not injured, Reed said.

Authorities are still determining the cause of the accident. Reed said it was not a head-on collision.

“It was more of a sideswipe,” he said.

The 17-year-old, who police are not identifying, was taken by ambulance to an area hospital, Reed said.

Seneca Valley spokeswoman Linda Andreassi said all four male students, who are juniors at Seneca Valley High School, were treated at UMPC Passavant for minor injuries.  

"I believe most of them already have been released," she said.

Andreassi said the injuries consisted of bumps, bruises and scrapes. The students were on their way to class when the accident occurred, she said.

High school principal Mark Korcinsky immediately got in touch with the parents of the injured students after learning about it through the district's school resources officer, Andreassi said. 

"He was able to confirm through the families that the boys are fine," she said.

Police continue to investigate the collision. Check back with Cranberry Patch for updates to this story.