WORTH TOWNSHIP, Pa .– A 31-year-old man who was the driver and a 14-year-old girl were killed in a school bus crash on I-79 Monday afternoon, according to the Butler County Assistant Coroner.

Several medical helicopters were requested and several students were airlifted to a Pittsburgh hospital after a truck and school bus collided near the intersection of I-79 and Highway 422 in Township of Muddy Creek in Butler County.

CLICK HERE for more photos as Chopper 11 flew over the crash scene

State police said the accident happened at kilometer 96.6 along the highway. A tractor-trailer and a school bus both traveling in the northbound lanes collided.

The Chopper 11 video showed the front of the school bus completely wrinkled. The bus appears to have struck the rear of a flatbed semi-trailer truck. Several rescuers were on site.

“Serious to moderate injuries” were reported on the school bus. The students on the bus were taken to the UPMC children’s hospital by medical helicopter and ambulance. A UPMC official said five teenagers were taken to the children’s hospital and being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

The unharmed pupils of the bus were reunited with their parents or guardians.

The soldiers said the students on the bus came from Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School in Beaver County. A school official said on Tuesday evening that students were returning from school for the day the accident happened.

Officials said I-79 will be closed for an extended period due to the investigation.

The bus involved in the accident is from RJ Rhodes Transit. Channel 11 contacted the company and we were told “no comment.”

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