University wrestling team bus collides with snowplow in Ohio, killing man on bus

1/12/2011

CLEVELAND — A university athletic trainer was killed when a team bus collided with a snow plow as Ohio struggled with a storm threatening up to 8 inches of snow, officials said Wednesday.

The accident killed 52-year-old Daniel Gorman of Hartville, who was the University of Mount Union director of athletic training and associate professor of human performance and sports business.

A Mount Union wrestling team member, the head coach and an assistant coach were among four people treated for minor injuries after the college bus hit a plow about 11 p.m. Tuesday on U.S. 30 in north-central Ohio, after several inches of snow had fallen.

Patrol Lt. Stephanie Norman said the plow was clearing the left berm when the bus moved from the right lane into the left lane and collided with the plow. No citations were issued, and the Crawford County crash remains under investigation, Norman said Wednesday.

The drivers of the state snowplow and the bus were not hurt.

The bus was returning to the school in Alliance after a meet at Ohio Northern University in Ada. The bus driver, 62-year-old Robert L. Lewis of Louisville, Ohio, could not be reached for comment. A message was left at a Louisville phone listing under his name.

Elsewhere, a state highway patrol trooper was recovering from injuries after he was hit by a spinning car on Interstate 75 on Tuesday in northwest Ohio.

The trooper was investigating another accident on the snowy interstate near Findlay when the car struck him. His injuries were serious but not life-threatening, the patrol said.

STORY: State trooper injured in weather-related crash

Several inches of snow fell in much of northern Ohio late Tuesday, and several more inches greeted Wednesday morning commuters as snow continued to fall in some areas.

A winter storm warning was posted for Cleveland and counties northeast and east of the city, with the possibility of up to 8 inches of snow.

The public schools in Canton canceled classes, as did districts in other parts of the state, including the Athens schools in southeast Ohio.

Up to 6 inches of snow had fallen Tuesday across southern Ohio, contributing to traffic accidents and delays and cancellations for Cincinnati air travelers.