1 dead, 13 injured after 2 SEPTA buses collide at Shelmire Avenue in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 72-year-old passenger was killed and more than a dozen people were injured after two SEPTA buses collided in Northeast Philadelphia's Rhawnhurst neighborhood Friday afternoon.
On Saturday, police identified the 72-year-old man as Siu Nam Mak from the Castor neighborhood.
The crash happened after 12 p.m. on Roosevelt Boulevard near Shelmire Avenue, just a few miles from the victim's home.
It was an extremely frightening afternoon for people on the buses. The hard collision injured 14 people, two of them critically.
"There was a guy who was holding his head, another guy with blood running down his leg," Ada Marin said.
A shocking scene for Marin. She was outside her apartment in her car when she says this crash happened right in front of her.
"This one was like three cars behind it more or less and it didn't seem like there was an attempt to stop, I'm not sure exactly what happened but the bus hit directly the back of the other bus and that was it," she said.
"Somebody yelled, 'Whoa, whoa, whoa,'" Robert West Jr., a passenger, said, "like they missed their stop or something."
Chopper 3 video shows people laid out on the grass in front of the Roosevelt Apartment homes, which were already evacuated for an unrelated fire alarm.
West got a firsthand account of this crash. He tells CBS News Philadelphia he was on the number 14 bus heading to get a haircut when his bus smashed into the back of the other one.
"My phone flew out my pocket," he said. "One guy on the other seat across the aisle, he flew out of his seat."
In the chaotic aftermath of the crash, West described frantically helping another man get off the mangled bus.
"I'm like c'mon man you gotta hurry up, I hear some hissing," he said. "Something might blow up we gotta hurry and get off of here."
🚨14 INJURED AFTER 2 SEPTA BUSES COLLIDE
— Dan Snyder (@DanSnyderTV) July 21, 2023
Two people are in critical condition after 2 SEPTA buses collide on Roosevelt Blvd near Shelmire Ave. Pole say 14 people reported injuries. Roosevelt is closed in this area right now. @CBSPhiladelphia pic.twitter.com/nBXdNTXSld
Police confirmed one of the bus drivers is in critical condition. West says he's lucky to be alive.
"That's all I can say, it was shocking," he said.
So far there's no word on what caused the collision.
Philadelphia Police and SEPTA say this is an ongoing investigation.