Bus Carrying New York Minor League Hockey Team Crashes

Thursday, November 29th 2007, 10:50 am

By: News On 6

HARBORCREEK, Pa. (AP) - A bus carrying members of a New York minor league hockey team struck the back of a tractor-trailer and went down an embankment, seriously injuring the bus driver and causing minor injuries to several players.

The Elmira Jackals of the ECHL were returning home after a 7-1 loss Wednesday in Cincinnati when the accident happened about 4:15 a.m. Thursday on Interstate 90 about 35 miles from the Ohio border, police said.

The bus driver, 56-year-old Kenneth Nance of Blossburg, was trapped in the wreckage before he was flown to Hamot Medical Center in Erie, police said. Nance was in serious condition in the intensive-care unit, a hospital spokeswoman said.

Nance was employed by JGM Coach Co. of Pennsylvania, said Jackals general manager Robbie Nichols.

``Some players were tossed and thrown around the bus,'' Nichols said. ``We have some minor injuries. We don't know the extent of the injuries.''

No players were hospitalized. The team sent a bus to pick them up.