Commuters have been advised of bus service delays and detours in the area.
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Jennifer Petrain was opening up a Starbucks about 100 yards from where the accident occurred. “She came back and got me and we ran down with ice, water and med kit for the EMS workers to see if we could help”. “We are not positive about that, but that is what is being said”, he said.
Joseph Barthelus, the driver of the bus carrying no passengers, was killed.
All the injured are passengers, with the exception of one of the bus drivers.
The surviving bus driver, James Roberts, who had been on the job for 35 years, has been released from the hospital, authorities said. Both buses are operated by NJ Transit.
“We’re praying for all of those in the hospital”.
The accident happened at Raymond Blvd. and Broad St.
Newark city officials closed two major roads following a crash between two NJ Transit buses that killed the driver and injured at least 18 around 6 a.m. on Friday, according to reports. They witnessed about 20 to 30 people being removed from the wrecked buses.
Footage from the scene showed some victims lying on a sidewalk and others taken away in stretchers.
The buses are a mangled mess. The bus that was struck is on its side, its frame bent and the other bus lodged in its undercarriage. The bus driver was beginning his route. The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office is investigating.
Photos from the scene show one of the buses appears to have “t-boned” the other, splitting the second bus almost in half.
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A NJ Transit spokeswoman could not immediately comment. The other bus was coming from New York City and going to South Orange.
