Demanding Answers: Why Was NJ TRANSIT Bus Going Wrong Way Down Garden State Parkway?
PERTH AMBOY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- Why was an NJ TRANSIT bus going down the Garden State Parkway the wrong way recently, heading right for oncoming traffic?
CBS2's Meg Baker was demanding answers Monday.
The incident was caught on video early this past Thursday.
The bus is seen heading into traffic on a busy exit ramp. But where was the bus coming from, and why was the driver going the wrong way?
In the video, a driver gets off the Garden State Parkway northbound at Exit 127 toward 440 North. Then suddenly, the headlights from the wrong-way NJ TRANSIT bus are coming right at him.
Al Young was also on the road around 6:15 a.m. this past Thursday, merging with traffic from the parkway and Route 9.
"I step on the brakes and see this big, humongous bus," he said.
Young said he didn't believe it.
"So I stopped, and of course and immediately I picked up my camera and I took two quick little pictures," Young said.
So how did it happen? Baker went to NJ TRANSIT headquarters in Newark and made a call.
Finally, a brief email was all the explanation NJ TRANSIT offered. It simply said, "The operator has been removed from service pending the outcome of our investigation."
NJ TRANSIT said the No. 116 bus was heading to Smith Street to begin its route from Perth Amboy to the Port Authority Bus Terminal.
CBS2 retraced the path of the bus, and it seemed to make a right-hand turn off Florida Grove Road – despite a sign saying "wrong way" in the direction the bus was headed.
There are other signs indicating not to drive in the direction the bus did, including a "one way" sign and a "do not enter" sign.
It was about a quarter-mile drive from the where the bus driver made the wrong turn to where commuters spotted it under the overpass. It is still unclear how the bus turned around or was removed.
NJ TRANSIT said there were not any passengers on the bus at the time.
