At least 18 people suffered injuries after a double-decker tour bus and a city bus collided in New York City on Thursday.
The tour bus crashed into the back of a Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) bus around 7pm on East 23rd Street and First Avenue in Manhattan, deputy chief Kevin Murphy with the New York Fire Department's Division 1 Unit said.
Emergency personnel said the larger tour bus added complicated the rescue operation and that both buses were packed at the time of the crash.
Windows were broken and ropes and ladders were brought on the spot to get people down because of the crash damage to the bus, authorities said. "We've had a few minor challenges in the double-decker bus – going through the windows, taking people out," New York EMS deputy chief Paul Hopper said.
Several people suffered cuts, bruises, and scrapes, along with suspected fractures and head and neck injuries.
“Anytime you have two buses involved, you have a significant number of patients that likely need to be treated – so seeing that quantity of people right away, I think the units did a very good job of getting them off the bus quickly and taking them to the appropriate resources,” Mr Murphy added.
None of the injured had life-threatening injuries, authorities said, adding that about 63 other passengers requested evaluations by a doctor who was at the scene.
“I heard the lady next to me scream, so I looked up and I saw this bus barreling towards us,” Ishrak Jahan, a passenger on one bus, told CBS News York.
“I just saw glass everywhere for a second. It was honestly like I was in a movie ... I saw blood. I immediately called 911,” she said.
Multiple injured as tour bus collides with city bus in New York— (Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The driver of the MTA bus, a 15-year veteran of the agency, didn't sustain major injuries and was doing fine after the accident. “A good operator was banged up, but with no life-threatening injuries, thank goodness,” Mr Davey said, according to the New York Post.
“But [it] certainly was a harrowing moment for him and you know, a harrowing moment, frankly, for the another 26 or so, passengers on the big bus behind us.”
The driver of the tour bus – operated by the tourism company TopView – has been issued with a court summons over the incident.
