Police: 7 people hurt, 3 critically, in school bus accident in the Bronx
NEW YORK -- Three people are in critical condition following a school bus crash in the Bronx on Monday afternoon.
Seven people in total were hospitalized in the multi-vehicle accident, police said.
Police said the crash happened at around 3:15 p.m. at Einstein Loop north and the Hutchinson River Parkway east in Co-Op City. An 80-year-old man at the wheel of a Jeep, with a 70-year-old female passenger, collided with the mini school bus. Both were taken to Jacobi Hospital in critical condition.
CBS2 spoke to witness Justice Kwanza, who said he tried to help.
"The driver was trying to get out, but he could because of his legs. He couldn't feel the legs and it took fire service 45 minutes to an hour. They had to cut the door," Kwanza said.
Unable to help them, Kwanza said moved to the people on the school bus.
"Inside the bus, it was people screaming like a movie, chaos," Kwanza said.
Another man told CBS2 the Jeep was going through an intersection when it struck the bus and then another vehicle. The bus suffered a large gash in its side and windows were blown out.
Police said there were six people on the bus -- four students, the driver and an attendant. One student, a 21-year-old with special needs, was taken to Jacobi in critical condition. The three others, ages 8, 10 and 14, and the attendant were hospitalized with minor injuries. The bus driver was treated at the scene.
"All of a sudden I heard a loud bang and I looked out the window and saw total chaos over here, a lot of action going on here. Everybody was running, getting people out the cars, and it was very serious," the man said.
CBS2 called the bus company, Mar-Can Transportation Inc., but it had no comment on the crash.