An investigator stands inside a commuter bus that crashed into a tree after colliding with a school bus Thursday in Old Bridge, N.J.(Photo: Mel Evans, AP)
OLD BRIDGE, N.J. -- A New York City-bound commuter bus and a mini
school bus crashed Thursday on a state highway in New Jersey, injuring
at least 17 people, two critically.
School officials said no students were on the Old Bridge school bus, which landed on its side along Route 9.
The
accident occurred one day after a high-speed commuter ferry from New
Jersey crashed into a dock in Manhattan, injuring dozens.
Television
footage showed the commuter bus slammed into a tree, with a large
branch protruding from the roof on the passenger side of the front end.
The rear of the bus was pinned against a utility pole.
The
commuter bus was about midway through its route from Toms River to Wall
Street in Manhattan, with four stops left on the run, said Joe Orlando,
spokesman for Academy Bus. He didn't know how many passengers were
aboard though said the bus could carry 55.
Two crash victims, a
man, 42, and a woman, 31, were reported in critical condition at Robert
Wood Johnson Medical Center. Fifteen others were in stable condition at
branches of Raritan Bay Medical Center, a hospital spokesman said.
The school bus landed on a fenced-off generator for an apartment complex.
Associated Press