13 dead in Bronx tour bus accident
The scene of a bus crash that killed 15 people on the New England Thruway at the Hutchinson River Parkway. (Mar. 12, 2011) Credit: ABC-TV via AP
A bus crash on the New England Thruway in the Bronx killed 13 people this morning, New York City officials said.
A spokesman for the FDNY said 13 bus passengers died, and six were critically injured. The crash happened near the Westchester County line about 5:30 a.m.
The injured were taken to St. Barnabas Hospital and Jacobi Medical Center.
The bus crashed in the southbound lanes near Exit 14 for the Hutchinson Parkway, a spokesman for the NYPD said.
A Worldwide Tour bus turned onto its side and slammed into a pole holding up a road sign. The pole ripped through the top of the bus along the roof line, stopped near the rear of the bus. The bus company is based in Gowanus, Brooklyn.
The bus was carrying 32 passengers, and 11 suffered minor injuries, a fire department spokesman said.
Two passengers suffered serious injuries, a fire department spokesman said.
The southbound New England Thruway and the Hutchinson Parkway are both closed. The northbound lanes of both highways are open, the New York State Department of Transportation said.
