Bus Driver Cited For Crash Into Brookline Cannon

BROOKLINE, PA - The driver of a Port Authority bus that took out the neighborhood’s famed war memorial cannon last month has been cited for unsafe driving and failure to wear a seat belt. Nicole Lawrence also no longer works for the authority, an agency spokesman told WTAE-TV, but he declined to say if she was fired.

In the July 8 incident, the bus went through a fence and struck the cannons, which sits on a small island between Brookline Boulevard, Queensboro and Chelton avenues. No injuries were reported, but the cannon became lodged in a side window of the bus.

Lawrence had worked for the authority for a little over a year.

The Port Authority has agreed to pay to restore the cannon. It’s not clear when it will return to Brookline.

The cannon, a World War I artillery piece, has been a mainstay on Brookline Boulevard since 1934. It’s the centerpiece of Brookline's Veterans Memorial Park, officially known as Triangle Park.

Photo by Jarrett Stewart via Creative Commons.