Van crashes into Washington County building

CHARLEROI, Pa. (KDKA) -- A transit van went sailing into a building in Washington County on Thursday.

The transit van lost control and flew down 11th Street across Upper Crest Avenue before crashing into a building around 7:30 a.m. Thursday.

Rescue officials say there were 10 people on the van from Freedom Transit of the Mon Valley Transit Authority. The driver reportedly helped evacuate several of the people, two of whom were taken to the hospital for observation with no life-threatening injuries.

The van went all the way into the building, which was a former grocery store now used for storage. Removing it was no easy task.

"We had to actually take the roof off the bus. We can't figure out how it got in there, but we had to disassemble the roof off of it to pull it out," said Charleroi Fire Department Chief Robert Whiten Jr.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

"We don't know if there was a medical issue with the bus driver or there was a mechanical failure. But the state police are supposed to investigate along with Charleroi Regional to see if there was an issue with the bus," Whiten said.