Kiski Area High School student injured by school bus while crossing road

A Kiski Area High School student was taken to a hospital Wednesday morning after walking into the side of a moving school bus.

The 16-year-old boy was attempting to cross three lanes of traffic to reach the On The Fly convenience store, according to Allegheny Township police Chief Dan Uncapher, when he was clipped by a school bus heading north on Hyde Park Road.

Lower Kiski Ambulance Service transported the boy to UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. His condition is unknown.

“Our thoughts are with the student and their family, and it’s just unfortunate that this happened this morning,” Superintendent Jason Lohr said.

The collision happened about 7:15 a.m. and briefly snarled traffic.

The bus driver was not at fault, Uncapher said.

The bus had just dropped off students.

Lohr emphasized students are not permitted to roam outside the building between dropoff and the start of classes.

“When students arrive on campus, whether they’re driving or whether they take school transportation, our expectation is that students immediately report to the building,” Lohr said.

There is no crosswalk in the area, which is a high-traffic commercial corridor.

“I would not advocate anybody crossing that street at that time of day — no students, no adults,” Uncapher said.

This is the first serious pedestrian-vehicle collision on this section of Hyde Park Road that Uncapher or Lohr could recall.

A bike rider was struck about a year and a half ago on a crosswalk at the intersection of Hyde Park Road and Route 356.

While several students walk to school from the nearby Sandalwood Apartments, none have to cross any busy roads on their way there, to Lohr’s knowledge.

Smith Bus Co., the district’s transportation provider, did not immediately return a request seeking comment.