It was a scene of chaos and panic at the corner of 47th Street and Ninth Avenue in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen area when two women were struck and seriously injured by a private charter bus.
The bus was turning the corner at the intersection when two Spanish tourists crossed West 47th at 10th Avenue. One of the victims, a 62-year old woman, was pinned under the bus’ wheel while the other was struck and injured. The women were on the last day of their New York vacation and had planned an early start on their day. According to witnesses the bus driver, who was distraught, had the light.
The women were relatives, an aunt and her niece, traveling together. Now the older woman is at Bellevue Hospital where doctors are trying to determine whether or not they will be able to save her leg and the younger woman, aged 50, was taken to New York Presbyterian Hospital. Police indicated that the bus driver had been headed to a parking lot after having taken passengers on a two-hour trip from Easton, Pennsylvania and dropping them off at the Port Authority Terminal. Police say that the driver will not be charged in the incident.
Witnesses at the scene shot cell phone video of the accident’s aftermath. The 62-year old aunt could be seen bleeding in the street, stuck under the wheel, while the driver stands over her attempting to offer help. The other victim’s purse is spilled throughout the street as she screams for help. The deli clerk who shot the video also called 911 for emergency response to the screen while another woman on her way to work offered her coat to the victim under the bus to prevent her from going into shock.
After the victims were taken away, the bus remained on the scene for several hours and the driver remained on the bus, making cell phone calls and showing signs of extreme distress at the incident. Another driver arrived to remove the bus from the scene.