A No. 59 bus without any passengers was heading back to Newark when the driver T-boned a No. 13 bus at the intersection, officials said.
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The number of injured and the extent of their injuries is not known. Firefighters pulled passengers through a side window and loaded them onto waiting stretchers and into ambulances.
“We’re praying for all of those in the hospital”, he added.
At a news conference Friday afternoon, Newark Mayor Ras Baraka did not offer many details about the incident. Both drivers were in good standing with the transit agency, Martin said.
Murray and Newark Public Safety Director Anthony Ambrose announced today that the Newark Police Department and the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office are investigating a fatal bus crash that resulted in the death of a NJ TRANSIT bus driver and one passenger.
They were joined by employees from the nearby Starbucks, who, after seeing the crash, rushed out with first aid kits, water and ice packs for the wounded, according to CNN affiliate WPIX.
“We were there before anybody was on the scene”, Ms Petrain said.
At least nine other people were hurt in the crash. “It was awful. We saw people with head injuries, leg injuries”. Several witnesses say the driver seemed unaware of the traffic lights as he blew through the intersection about 6 a.m. Friday morning.
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The intersection was the first in the state, in 2009, to feature a surveillance camera created to catch people running red lights. Cory Booker, who was mayor at the time, conducted a demonstration in which he purposely rode through a red light.
