AMHERST - A Tiffin man helped steer a tour bus to the road's median after it was involved in a crash that critically injured the driver and killed the driver of another vehicle Friday night.
Brenda Magers of Tiffin and her husband, Gary Magers, were riding on a bus enroute to New York City. She said it was a fundraising trip for Bethesda Care Center in Fremont.
The bus, a 2007 motor coach owned by Lakefront Lines Inc., was supposed to travel all night, but was involved in the crash an hour into the trip.
According to a release from the Milan post of State Highway Patrol, the accident, which occurred about 10:30 p.m. Friday, was traveling east on the Ohio Turnpike in Lorain County. Six, or possibly seven, eastbound vehicles were involved.
Magers said she had been sleeping and awoke when the bus hit a vehicle. She said the windshield was gone, glass was flying, rain was blowing back onto passengers and people were screaming.
The driver, Magers said, became unconscious. Her husband, who is involved in Seneca County's Community Emergency Response Team, jumped out of his seat and ran to the front of the bus, where the driver was slumped over the steering wheel.
"He tried to find something to shut the engine off," she said.
Magers said when the driver, whose legs were crushed, regained consciousness, he tried to tell people how to turn off the motor. She said her husband thought the bus traveled up to 2 1/2 miles after the collision.
Magers said she was proud of her husband.
"He's a hero in my eyes," she said.
According to the State Highway Patrol release, Cynthia Dent of Detroit, who was driving a 2006 Ford Expedition, was killed in the crash, and Robert E. Wilburn II of Toledo, the bus driver, was critically injured. A Metro Health Medical Center spokeswoman said Wilburn, 25, was in good condition Monday night.
Four other Tiffin residents and five Clyde residents were involved in the crash.
A State Highway Patrol spokesman said Monday night officials were trying to determine how many separate crashes occurred.
