NJ Transit bus crash in Lincoln Tunnel injures dozens, FDNY says

Two NJ Transit buses collided in the Lincoln Tunnel Friday morning, injuring at least 32 people, the agency and the FDNY said.

Both buses were headed into Manhattan when one, carrying 37 riders, rear-ended the other, which had 25 riders, an NJ Transit spokeswoman said. The crash happened about 10 a.m. near the Manhattan end of the tunnel, she said.

Eight people with serious but not life-threatening injuries were taken to Lenox Hill Hospital. Twenty-three people with minor injuries were taken to NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue, fire officials said. One person refused medical attention at the scene.

“What we have, preliminarily, is a rear-end of a bus to another bus,” Raymond Bryant, deputy chief of the Port Authority police, said at an afternoon news conference. “At that point we’re conducting an investigation, reviewing videotape and then we’ll be able to summarize what happened.”

The buses moved out of the tunnel before first responders arrived, FDNY Chief Edward Baggott said.

NJ Transit officials told The Associated Press that a bus from Wayne, New Jersey, rear-ended a bus from Oradell, New Jersey.

Both drivers were among those taken to the hospital, Port Authority police said.

It was not immediately clear how fast the buses were traveling. There was minor damage to both vehicles, Bryant said, and the investigation is ongoing.

Mayor Bill de Blasio, speaking at an unrelated news conference on Staten Island, said “thank God” that there was “no one who appears to be in a life-threatening situation.”

“Obviously, I’m hoping and praying for the best for anyone who was injured in that incident,” de Blasio said.

The Port Authority manages the tunnel.

With Lauren Cook, Matthew Chayes and AP