A couple of Portland teens were finally on their way to visit relatives after a harrowing cross-country journey that stranded hundreds of passengers and resulted in the death of one man.

Delta Air flight 1688 was on it’s way to Newark when it was forced to change course and land in Syracuse, New York because of maintenance and backup problems, according to Jeanne Midgett, whose two teenage daughters, Olivia and Madeline were onboard.

AP

Delta Airlines

The plane landed late and around 200 passengers waited for buses and transportation to their final destination.

Passengers were riding through Pennsylvania when one of the buses crashed in the pre-dawn hours, killing a driver.

According to Pennsylvania State Police, driver 37-year-old Carl Fowler was ejected from the bus which landed on top of him.

Twelve of the 17 passengers on the bus were taken to area hospitals with injuries, according to the Times Tribune newspaper.

Olivia and Madeline Midgett were not hurt. But the accident caused an even longer backup -- as they had to wait for a ride for another eight hours as police investigated.

Jeanine said a relative made the trip to pick up the two sisters, after they waited at a McDonald’s.

"It was the most bizarre fiasco I'd ever heard of," she said.

The airline said they were looking into the incident and local police were handling the investigation.

According to spokesman Anthony Black, there was no word on if any of the passengers would be compensated.

Olivia and Madeline were finally on their way their final destination, Nantucket, on Friday -- two days after they left Portland.