35°Gibsonburg woman killed in head-on crash with P.C. school bus
Sep 01
2010
Saline bags littered Ohio 53, evidence of paramedics' heroic but unsuccessful efforts Wednesday afternoon to save a Gibsonburg woman after she hit a Port Clinton school bus head-on.
A passerby held the hand of Diana Lau, 36, Gibsonburg, after the crash, comforting her until help arrived.
"She kept telling her help was coming," Tessa Sutherland, who witnessed the crash.
Sutherland saw the massive collision while working at the Hy-Miler gas station, near where the crash occurred.
Lau was heading north on Ohio 53 and had just passed the bridge over Ohio 2 when she went left of center and hit a Port Clinton school bus traveling south.
The bus driver, Rayanne Smith, 34, and a transportation aide, Michelle Barnette, 41, were the only ones on the bus at the time. Both were taken to Magruder Hospital.
The bus was on its way to pick up students at an alternative school in Genoa, 21 miles from the crash.
The collision left both vehicles smoking, so a worker at Hy-Miler grabbed a fire extinguisher and ran to the scene in case the leaking engine fluids should ignite.
First responders from the Bay Twp. volunteer fire department and the Erie Twp. Fire Department arrived to find the front of Lau's 1997 Chevy Luminia collapsed into itself. They started to give Lau transfusions and worked to keep her alive.
Firefighters tore the driver's side door from the vehicle and removed the dashboard to free the woman, whose legs were pinned.
A medical helicopter landed on Ohio 53, waiting to rush her to a Toledo hospital. Lau died before rescuers could transport her.
A yellow and gray Cockatiel was also killed in the cash. Its broken cage laying on the pavement next to the car.
Troopers with the Ohio State Patrol, Sandusky post, said it's not clear what happened in the moments before the crash or if the bird might have distracted the driver.
"We know it wasn't her sugar," Sgt. Joe Wentworth said. "Sometimes when drivers drift that far its sugar but we tested for that."
Lau's neighbors remember her as an animal lover.
"She was very much a pet person," said Becky Lauer, who lived near Lau past four years. "She was a very private person, very friendly."
Lau had dogs, cats and birds, Lauer said, and was an amazing gardener.
"She was willing to share her flowers. I have lots of plants she gave me starts of," Lauer said.
Both Port Clinton School District employees suffered minor injuries and are shaken up, said Port Clinton Schools Superintendent Pat Adkins, who rushed meet them at the hospital.
Troopers told him their driver was not at fault, Adkins said.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the woman in the other car," Adkins said.
With the schools back in session, Wentworth asked for drivers to be more cautious.
"Be more cautious coming over hills, slow down when you see a bus-their lights could come on at any time," Wentworth said.
OSHP to patrol school zones
With schools back in session Ohio State Patrol troopers will be heavily patrolling school zones this month.
Lt. Darryl Edge said troopers will target school zones in both Erie and Ottawa Counties everyday in September, including when classes are scheduled to begin and let out for the day.
They will be watching for traffic violations.
In May troopers targeted the Danbury schools, as well as Perkins High School.
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04:46 AM
her niece says
06:00 AM
her niece says
Oh & yeah Botchi is my dad down on the page, he does write well.
05:58 AM
her niece says
It's been 2 months, & I still hurt like no onee would belive. I cry everyday still. I know I cant have her back. But MY LIFE being the way it is, she ws the only person who I talked to everyday, about everything in life thats happens. She never judged, especially when I make mistakes. Bc in all honesty im only human, & we both struggled. We suffered the same illness of Bi-Polar, and now who do I talk to w out her. No one talked the way we did & no one ever could , I know I cant replace that. There is no one who could understand me the way we understood each other. I find myself w alot on my mind, & alot of empty time. So missing her comes, not easier, but only harder. There were so many ood & ends she'd givin me, over the 3 yrs we got close. So many more left at her house for me, & she hadnt had the chance to give me. Everything she has givin me is my strenght, to keep seeing her face. I dont know if i can move on, I know time heals all, but in my situation family falls short, always have, so who takes one of the only 2 peices of family I have left...Aunt Diane & Aunt Caryn.
12:47 PM
Motherof2 says
My heart goes out to Diane and her whole family. But seriously??? Did the Sandusky Register HAVE to put so many photos of the accident, detailing things that were in the pictures, not to mention the video? I don't even want to watch the video. I just don't understand why, reporting news, has to include things that only make the family's tragedy even more horrific by sharing things that should only be known by family. Why did they have to put pics of "the sheet that covered her body" or the inside of the vehicle at all. Does the Sand Rag have NO heart??? I understand the accident is "news", but come on Sandusky Register... be a little more sympathetic and empathic to the families that have to deal with a great loss and an already horrible idea of what happened.
07:23 PM
44846GWP says
What a shame this happened. I have done the same thing, drift left of center, changing the radio station, or being tired. Thoughts go out to Mrs. Lau, her family, friends, and her little pet bird that also died. One last thought is to remind everyone to wear your seat-belt at all times.
01:48 PM
ragtop66 says
What a sad tragedy to such a young person. Prayers and heartfelt sympathy to all the family and friends of this young woman.
09:43 AM
Woody Hayes says
Botchi:
She now gardens with the Lord. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
08:34 AM
nosey rosey says
Botchi - Sincere condolences to your family.
07:39 AM
Kottage Kat says
My heartfelt prayers to the family of this young woman.
07:29 AM
tlmrjm says
to BOTCHI: I send out my prayers to you and your family. I empathize in the most sincere way as we had a similiar incident some 16yrs ago with my 15yr old brother just a few days shy of 16, while driving my fathers truck to school because he missed the school bus. The innocent here never had a chance at a full life. I hope that your family will always remember the good things and good surroundings she provided you with..... the memories are all we have left. That was a very beautiful comment you put in here, brought tears and memories back. My family will be praying for yours!!!!!!!!!!!!
05:07 AM
Betherella says
Botchi, that was so nicely said. I didn't know her, but you painted a picture of someone everyone would've loved to have known. I'm sorry for your loss, and I'm sorry to the rest of the family for your loss, too.
02:01 AM
Botchi says
She was my sister in law, my wife's sister and a aunt/friend to my daughter. She was a very decent human being full of innocents who had no vices & married a long time fiance a year ago. She was out looking for an Anniversary gift for her husband. We had lived across the street from her when she was a young girl going to school in Toledo. She used to watch me put in a garden of vegetables & flowers in her Mothers backyard which rubbed off on her when she got older & became a backyard gardener. She cared about the simplest things in life one could do to make a yard look nicer. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio and wanted to get away from city life. She was to young for what happened to her. The whole family of sisters & brothers left behind are shocked & stunned. Her mother passed away some 6 yrs ago from Cancer. She was the youngest in the family of 7. My wife is distraught along with my daughter. You never know when a loved one leaves the house to go shopping that you will never see them again. Nobody is sure how this happened or why yet. She was a very sweet kid, that I know. When she became a full women she was a knock-out with a hair style that would make Farrah Fawcett's hair do obsolete. She was so innocent it seems unfair to what happened. I thank God no one else was seriously injured. Please say a prayer for her brothers & sisters because they didn't see this coming as most families don't, an unexpected death of such a youg women who to me is that little girl I saw grow up. Never take for granted what you have today for tommorow it could be gone forever. Tell them you love them and to be carefull when they leave just to go to a store because of life's unexpected turns. RIP, Diane you won't be forgotten.