Kiss causes head-on crash; 5 lucky to be alive

A little love caused a lot of heartache Tuesday night, when a kiss caused a head-on collision that injured three adults and two children in southwestern Pennsylvania.

The driver of a pickup truck, who had earlier proposed to his passenger, leaned over to kiss her at about 8:45 p.m. and crossed onto the eastbound side of two-lane Route 40.

The pickup driver "saw he was about to collide with red vehicle. He actually dove into her lap to protect her from the impact," Patrolman Rodney Bush of the Donegal Police Department told Pittsburgh's 4ABC (WTAE-TV).

"I saw the truck coming," Brian Lloyd, 34, told the station yesterday at the hospital where he was being treated him for broken bones. "He pulled straight into my lane. It was either the woods . . . I slammed on the brakes. He just kept coming."

"I remember, right after we hit, I couldn't get out of the car because there was blood everywhere," he said. "My kids were screaming."

All five people were taken to Pittsburgh-area hospitals.

The son was treated for a concussion, the stepdaughter mostly for cuts, 4ABC reported.

The Dodge pickup driver, Brian Schaffer, 32, suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung, while passenger Kristi Burchick, 28, had bruises and broken nose, according to WPXI-TV of Pittsburgh.

Earlier that night, at scenic overlook on Route 40, Schaffer got of the truck, dropped to one knee and asked Burchik to marry him, she told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. They were childhood friends and neighbors in Claysville, Pa., but didn't date each other until about five months ago, she said.

"He leaned over and gave me a peck," she said of the accident. "The next thing I know, a car is coming toward us."

No charges had been filed yesterday, but police were still investigating.