BETHLEHEM — An 88-year-old Bethlehem resident was killed Friday after a vehicle crashed head-on into the senior bus she was riding in, town police said Monday.
Jean R. Hipwell was riding in the Bethlehem Senior Transportation Service vehicle when an 83-year-old driver from Coxsackie crossed from the northbound lane of Route 9W into the southbound lane, striking the bus head-on around 12:48 p.m. near Wemple Road, Bethlehem police said.
Hipwell was brought to St. Peter’s Hospital for chest pain, where she later died, police said. The bus driver was not injured. The other driver was brought to St. Peter’s Hospital for a leg injury.
Police were already in the area for reports of erratic driving when they were called to the crash. They said they later learned the driver who caused the Route 9W crash was involved in another crash minutes earlier, about a mile down the road. He allegedly crossed into the southbound lane and side-swiped another vehicle around 12:46 p.m. near Church Road. Neither driver was injured in that crash.
Bethlehem police Deputy Chief James Rexford said both crashes are under investigation and charges are pending.