Covenant News
Five Students Escape Serious Injury in Van Rollover
CHICAGO, IL (May 14, 2002) - Five members of the North Park University Choir escaped serious injury late this morning when a van in which they were riding rolled over in a ditch along Interstate 80 in western Pennsylvania, Covenant News Service has learned.The van was following a bus carrying other members of the university choir as part of an 11-concert "Heaven and Earth" tour of the Great Lakes and East Coast conferences of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
About 40 miles east of the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line, the van apparently was cut off by a truck and forced into the ditch to avoid a collision, according to an investigative report received by Jenny Holmgren Cobbley, the university's director of communication. Investigators reported the van was a total loss.
No serious injuries were reported, according to Cobbley. Two students complained of sore muscles and were taken by ambulance to local hospitals as a precautionary measure. Both were later released.
The group performed last evening in Hudson, Ohio, and was traveling to Port Allegany, Pennsylvania, where the choir is scheduled to perform this evening at the local high school.
"The situation could have been very, very bad, but it wasn't," said Carl Balsam, university vice president who has been closely following events surrounding the accident. Parents and others needing additional information can call Cobbley at 773-244-5567.
The choir will return to Chicago May 23. The remaining tour schedule is as follows:
- Tuesday, May 14 - 8 p.m., Evangelical Covenant Church in Port Allegany, Pennsylvania (814-642-2272)
- Wednesday, May 15 - 7 p.m. Zion Covenant Church in Jamestown, New York (716-488-9310)
- Thursday, May 16 - 7 p.m., Covenant Church of Easton, Easton, Connecticut (203-371-8335)
- Friday, May 17 - 7:30 p.m., Cape Cod Covenant Church in Brewster, Massachusetts (508-385-2223)
- Sunday, May 19 - 8:15 and 11 a.m., Bethany Covenant Church in Bedford, New Hampshire (603-472-5545)
- Sunday, May 19 - 7 p.m., Trinity Covenant Church in Manchester, Connecticut (860-649-2855)
- Tuesday, May 21 - 7 p.m., Covenant Community Church in Fairfield, Ohio (513-942-5570)
- Wednesday, May 22 - 7 p.m., Evangelical Covenant Church in Lafayette, Indiana (765-474-4842)
Rollo Dilworth directs the university choir. Karen Bauer directs the Chamber Singers.
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