NJ Transit Bus Involved In Maple Shade Crash; 3 Injured
By Ileana Diaz
MAPLE SHADE, N.J., (CBS) – Three people are hospitalized after a New Jersey Transit bus was involved in an accident with another vehicle Wednesday night.
The accident was reported at about 6:25 p.m. at East Kings Highway and Route 38 in Maple Shade.
PHOTOS: Bus, Vehicle Collide In Maple Shade
This is what East Kings Highway looked like after a New Jersey Transit Bus and a white Chevy SUV crashed heading southbound. New Jersey Transit tells CBS 3 the bus was rear-ended and those nearby stunned by the damage.
"It very depressing to see that. Just looks terrible," resident Matt Hoffman said.
And it was challenging to respond. The New Jersey Transit bus landed over the guardrail in the trees and crews tell CBS 3 they had to use this window to get the driver and passenger out.
"We had patients inside that vehicle. We had to make sure before we got in there and got them we stabilized that vehicle so our guys could go in there and get them," Chief Kevin Greenfield of Maple Shade Fire Company said.
The fire chief says the driver of this totaled SUV had already escape the vehicle. He along with the driver and passenger of the bus were taken to nearby hospitals while crews worked to get the bus out of the trees and on to the ground.
"Best way to do it was bring it down the embankment with wrecker up top here and wrecker at the bottom working together," Greenfield said.
Crews tell CBS 3 it's an unusual accident that's still under investigation, but those who drive here often say it is a dangerous roadway.
"Around here you tend to go heavy on the pedal and you feel comfortable. It's almost like a race track," Hoffman said.
The driver of the SUV along with the driver and passenger of the NJ Transit bus were taken to Kennedy and Cooper University hospitals. All of them were treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Police are continuing to investigate the cause of the accident and the details of how it happened.
