GRANBY — Two people were injured and taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after a Peter Pan bus struck an oil delivery truck and then slammed into a home on Amherst Road shortly after 11 a.m. Monday, according to Granby Police.
Police said they received several 911 calls reporting that the bus struck a house on Amherst Road (Route 116) and that a home heating oil delivery truck was involved as well. No one was home at 664 Amherst Road when the bus crashed into it and caused significant damage to the structure and vehicles involved.
The driver of the bus and a passenger suffered injuries and were taken to an area hospital, according to Granby Police. Police said five passengers had been on the bus at the time of the accident.
Granby Police Chief Alan Wishart said the northbound bus crashed into a parked oil delivery truck before crossing both lanes of traffic, traveling off the road and into the home. The driver of the fuel delivery truck was not in the vehicle at the time of the crash, according to Wishart.
Homeowner Jeff Labrecque said no one was home when the accident occurred. He said his sister lives there with another tenant. Labrecque said the bus hit downstairs office space in the house and a second-floor bedroom. He said his sister had just left the house to get a coffee prior to the accident.
“It felt like one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments,” Lebrecque said from the scene of the crash, noting that the bus could have seriously injured his sister had she been in the home office.
Nearby, White Rose Bed and Breakfast owner Pat Callahan said she was waiting for guests to arrive when she heard what sounded like a snowplow. Instead, she looked out the window and saw the bus crash into the neighbor’s house.
From her second floor, Callahan said she had a “bird’s-eye view” of the accident. It seemed like it happened in slow motion, as the bus crossed diagonally through the front yard, missing trees and hitting the home, she said. Callahan said she quickly called 911 at 11:07 a.m. before calling her neighbor.
South Hadley police and fire departments as well as State Police from the Belchertown barracks responded to the scene and troopers from the State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Section were called to assist with the investigation. The Department of Environmental Protection also arrived to evaluate the environmental impact and direct a cleanup of the oil spilled from the delivery truck, Wishart said.
Amherst Road was closed to through traffic until approximately 2:45 p.m. while crews investigated the crash and dealt with the cleanup, according to police. Wishart said the cause of the accident remains under investigation.
Caitlin Ashworth can be reached at cashworth@gazettenet.com.