TOUR BUS HIT, 15 INJURED

By ANDY MILLER-Times City Editor
HOLIDAY CITY - Fifteen people were transported to various hospitals after their bus was struck in the rear by a tractor-trailer rig on the Ohio Turnpike Tuesday evening.
At 10:15 p.m., a 1965 GMC bus that was converted into a tour bus was westbound on the Ohio Turnpike at milepost 18.5, just east of the Ohio 15 Bryan/Montpelier exit. The tour bus was being driven by Aaron Winett, 35, Berkeley, Calif., at approximately 40 miles per hour in the right lane, following another bus that was having engine trouble.
Robert Hitsman, 44, Dent, Minn., was westbound in a tractor-trailer rig loaded with plywood in the right lane in a line of commercial vehicles that were traveling at approximately 65 miles per hour. Vehicles in front of the Hitsman rig were moving to the left lane to avoid the tour bus. Hitsman failed to move over in time and his rig struck the bus in the rear. No damage amount was listed for the vehicles.
Winett was not injured. Hitsman had minor injures and was treated at the scene. Fifteen passengers in the tour bus were all transported.
Rob VanAlkemate, 35, Astoria, N.Y. was transported to CHWC-Bryan, then was then transferred to the Medical University of Ohio, Toledo, where he was listed in fair condition this morning.
Jerald Goracnick, 51, New York, N.Y.; and James Benn, 48, Brooklyn, N.Y., were each transported via LifeFlight to the Medical University of Ohio, Toledo. Mr. Goracnick was listed in fair condition this morning, while there was no listing for Mr. Benn.
Michele Smith, 53, Brooklyn, N.Y.; William Moses, 41, Brooklyn, N.Y.; Madeline Nelson, 50, New York, N.Y.; Gwen Kash, 21, Pleasantville, N.Y.; and Chantel Lucier, 31, New York, N.Y., were all transported to Community Hospitals and Wellness Centers-Bryan. All were treated and released.
Pearl Quick, 18, Bronx, N.Y.; Shannon Baxter, 19, New York, N.Y.; Elizabeth Taubeneck, 26, New York, N.Y.; Mi Sun Choi, 34, Jersey City, N.J.; Julie Talen, 51, New York, N.Y.; Leah Farrell, 25, Brooklyn, N.Y.; and Michael Flythe, 43, Jamaica, N.Y., were all transported to CHWC-Montpelier. All were treated and released.
Hitsman was cited with assured clear distance ahead by the Ohio State Highway Patrol. The state patrol is investigating the crash and was assisted at the scene by Williams County Sheriff’s Office and Brady Township Fire Department.
According to the group’s web site, http://www.revbilly.com, the tour bus was one of two in the ‘Stop the Shopocalypse Tour.’ The Rev. Billy (Bill Talen) and the ‘Church of Stop Shopping’ launched the 5,000-mile, coast-to-coast tour with over 30 choir members on two bio-diesel buses on the shopping day of ‘Black Friday,’ Nov. 25, which the group termed ‘Buy Nothing Day.’
The Web site states the group is traveling the country, preaching the end of America’s deepest vice and wickedness: love of buying and accumulating unnecessary, mass-produced goods.’
The non-profit special interest group is staffed almost entirely by volunteers. According to a New York Times article posted on http://www.revbilly.com, Reverend Billy is a New York-based performance artist and activist who leads a special interest group protesting ‘any (store) chain he says he views as casually destroying the essence of neighborhoods.’