Car Crashes Into VTA Bus In San Jose; Wreck Snaps Power Pole
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) -- No one was seriously injured when a SUV collided with a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority bus and caught fire in East San Jose on Monday afternoon.
The crash was reported at King Road and Cunningham Avenue at 1:48 p.m., according to VTA spokeswoman Brandi Childress.
The eastbound Line 22 bus was servicing Capitol Expressway and the Eastridge Transit Center. Childress said the bus operator and the SUV driver were treated at the scene and no one was hospitalized.
Fire officials knocked down the vehicle fire by 2:42 p.m.
All VTA passengers have been transferred to a new bus, and have left the scene. The intersection at King and Cunningham is going to be completely closed for the next few hours, with traffic and power outages affecting the surrounding neighborhoods as well. Please avoid the area pic.twitter.com/Pm0tpmZWqg
— San José Fire Dept. (@SJFD) August 12, 2019
The bus crash took down a high-powered transmission line which will take PG&E crews several hours to replace, cutting power to hundreds of households.
"Bystanders wanted to get in to take pictures. It was a pretty spectacular scene. With downed power lines, it's extremely dangerous." said Brad Cloutier of the San Jose Fire Department.
Cloutier said the accident happened in front of Fire Station 16. Firefighters came out to help evacuate bus passengers and drivers.
"We're lucky no one got electrocuted," he said.
"It was really scary," said neighbor Gloria Chavez. "All of a sudden I heard this big old boom! It hit really hard. Then my electricity went off and I went out and sure enough, I saw the
city bus on fire."
There are currently re-routes in place for Lines 22, 70 and 77. VTA will provide an update once the scene is cleared of fire personnel.
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