Two SEPTA buses crashed into each other Friday when they entered Rhawnhurst neighborhood in northeast Philadelphia, killing an elderly passenger and injuring 13 others, according to CBS News.
🚨#BREAKING: Two city buses collided with over dozen people injured
📌 #Philadelphia | #PA
This afternoon, there was a large accident in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where two SEPTA buses collided. Multiple law enforcement and emergency personnel responded to the scene.… pic.twitter.com/7VEc6ADiCs
— R A W S A L E R T S (@rawsalerts) July 21, 2023
The bus crash occurred on Roosevelt Boulevard near Shelmire Avenue after 12 p.m., CBS News reported. Two of the fourteen victims suffered critical injuries, per the outlet. One of the bus drivers was confirmed by police to be in critical condition. (RELATED: Tennessee Mom Smashed School Bus Windows, Beat Driver With Baseball Bat, Police Say)
“There was a guy who was holding his head, another guy with blood running down his leg,” Ada Martin, a witness of the crash, said. She was in her car outside of her apartment when the buses collided right in front of her. “This one was like three cars behind it more or less and it didn’t seem like there was an attempt to stop. I’m not sure exactly what happened but the bus hit directly the back of the other bus and that was it.”
People laying on the grass in front of the Roosevelt Apartment homes, which were already evacuated due to an unrelated fire alarm, were shown on Chopper 3 video.
“Somebody yelled, ‘Whoa, whoa, whoa’ like they missed their stop or something,” Robert West Jr., a passenger on the number 14 bus, said. He was on his way to a haircut appointment when his bus crashed into the other.
West Jr. said he helped another man escape the mangled bus. He told him to “hurry up” because he heard “some hissing,” fearing that “something might blow up.”
It is unknown what caused the bus collision. An investigation is ongoing, according to Philadelphia Police and SEPTA.