Drivers facing trial in crash of ‘racing’ buses

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Two Pittsburgh-area transit drivers have been ordered to stand trial on charges they drove recklessly when prosecutors say they raced their empty, off-duty buses side by side before one of them crashed over an interstate embankment.

Police say 46-year-old Juliann Maier and 56-year-old Thomas Frauens were driving 65 mph in a 55 mph and scraped each other’s bus before the Sept. 22 crash on Interstate 279.

But Maier’s attorney says the bus she crashed was dangerous and in disrepair and claims the transit agency has filed the charges to cover that up.

The drivers are charged with recklessly endangering other motorists and several traffic citations.

There were no passengers on either bus, but Maier was hospitalized and continues to recover from her injuries.