MOUNT COBB, Pa. — Bagpipers returning from a St. Patrick’s Day parade were taken to hospitals after their charter bus crashed into a tractor-trailer, officials said.
The bus was exiting westbound Interstate 84 in northeastern Pennsylvania shortly before 6:30 p.m. Sunday when it ran into the tractor-trailer, which had no one inside it, Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Shaffer said, according to WBRE-TV/WYOU-TV.
A bus carrying a bagpipe band returning from a St. Patrick’s Day Parade crashed into a truck in Pennsylvania on March 16, 2025. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire CompanyThe Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Department at the scene of the crash. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire CompanyThe bus hit the unoccupied tractor trailer while exiting Interstate 84. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Company
Seventeen people on the bus had minor injuries, according to Pennsylvania State Police spokesperson Trooper First Class Robert Urban. The crash was not weather related and is under investigation, he said.
The bus was carrying the Greater Scranton Black Diamonds Pipe Band back from a parade in Milford, according to Bill Hetherson, the band’s business manager.
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The band expects everyone to make a full recovery.
Members of the Greater Scranton Black Diamonds Pipe Band were taken to the hospital after the collision. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire CompanyAll of the band’s members are expected to make a full recovery. Jefferson Township Volunteer Fire Company
They cancelled group St. Patrick’s Day events on Monday but some might be able to play solo, Hetherson said.
More than $22 million in “Money Match” checks were mailed to nearly 100,000 Pennsylvanians, the treasury said.
In a news release on Thursday, the Pennsylvania Treasury said people should be on the lookout for the checks, which are part of the Pennsylvania Money Match program. Treasurer Stacy Garrity said to cash or deposit the checks “promptly.”
The first Pennsylvania Money Match checks, totaling more than $1.7 million, are now on the way to Pennsylvanians’ mailboxes. Pennsylvania Money Match is a new program that allows Treasury to return certain unclaimed property to rightful owners automatically, which was approved unanimously by the General Assembly and signed by the Governor last year.
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“I want Pennsylvanians to know that this is a real check, it is real money, and it belongs to them,” Garrity said in the news release. “And as always, I still encourage everyone to regularly search for unclaimed property online, as many claims will not qualify for the Money Match process.”
With the mailing of the year’s last batch of checks, more than $50 million will have been returned automatically to Pennsylvanians.
What are Money Match checks?
The program allows the state treasury to automatically return unclaimed property valued up to $500 owned by a single individual. Before the program was created in 2024, residents themselves had to seek out unclaimed property.
“I’m thrilled to continue this program as we work hard to get more money back to its rightful owners,” Garrity said in the news release.
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However, if the property has multiple owners or is valued higher than $500, Pennsylvanians still need to file a claim.
What is unclaimed property?
Unclaimed property includes dormant bank accounts, uncashed checks, forgotten stocks, rebates and insurance policies, among other things. It can also include the contents of abandoned safe deposit boxes.
According to the state treasury, more than one in 10 Pennsylvanians is owed some of the $5 billion in unclaimed property in the treasury’s care, and the average value of a claim is more than $1,000.
Unclaimed property scam
On its website, the state treasury has a warning about scammers using text messages to target potential unclaimed property claimants.
The department “never reaches out to people in regard to any program, including unclaimed property, via unsolicited text messages.”
A special weather statement was issued by the National Weather Service on Friday at 10:06 a.m. until 1 p.m. for Warren, McKean, Elk, Cameron, Clearfield, Cambria and Somerset counties.
“Temperatures will drop below the freezing mark through midday with rain showers quickly changing to snow showers. Blustery winds may dry off roads and other paved surfaces, but any residual water from previous rain or melting snow could freeze up and result in slick spots through the afternoon,” explains the weather service.
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