AUTOPSY REVEALS DEATH OF BUS DRIVER DUE TO MEDICAL ISSUE

(PIKESVILLE, MD) – Maryland State Police traffic crash investigators were informed today that an autopsy revealed the death of the bus driver involved in the crash last week on I-270 was due to a medical condition and not the result of the crash.

Maryland State Police CRASH Team investigators were informed today by doctors at the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore that Joseph A. Clabaugh Jr., 66, of Hanover, PA, died of a heart attack. Clabaugh’s death was not attributable to any injuries sustained in the crash.

This information is consistent with statements provided to Maryland State Police investigators by passengers on the charter bus that left the roadway on the northbound I-270 HOV express lane from the outer loop of I-495 shortly after 4:00 p.m. on September 29, 2010, and rolled 45 feet down an embankment before coming to rest alongside the northbound I-270 spur from the inner loop of I-495. Multiple passengers told investigators the driver appeared to be sweating profusely. One passenger asked him if he was okay just before he appeared to pass out and slumped over the wheel, as the bus left the roadway.

The investigation is continuing.