A man died on Wednesday morning after being hit by a school bus while crossing the street in Middle Village, police said.
Officers responded to a 911 call at 8:37 a.m. on Wednesday about a pedestrian who was struck at the intersection of 67th Drive and 73rd Place. Upon their arrival, police found 83-year-old Bing Nuan Chen unconscious and unresponsive with trauma throughout his body, authorities said.
A preliminary investigation found that while Chen was crossing the street with his wife at 67th Drive, a yellow school bus operated by a 56-year-old woman made a left turn onto 67th Drive from 73rd Place, striking Chen, they said.
EMS rushed Chen to NYC Health + Hospitals/ Elmhurst, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver, who works for First Steps Transportation Inc., remained at the scene following the incident, police said. A manager from the First Steps Transportation company declined to comment because police were still investigating the incident.
Witnesses say the driver began screaming in the street immediately after hitting the man.
“I was just waking up, heard the screams from my window, but couldn’t see anything — my stomach can’t take that,” said Michael Kardezeo. “She was just on the ground screaming and praying. I’ve never seen anything like that over here.”
Another witness, Barbara Kerwitz, said she was inside her home when they heard the screams.
“When we looked out the window, the school bus was stopped and the door open, and she was on the floor laying flat and screaming,” Kerwitz said. “We thought the bus driver was hurt, but she must’ve seen what she hit and this poor person was under the bus. Another person came over and was on the floor with her consoling her — there was nothing anyone could do.”
Kerwitz said that intersection is “very busy in the morning” and “you can’t get around that – they drive like animals here.”
No arrests have been made at this time and the investigation is ongoing.
— EMILY DAVENPORT AND TODD MAISEL
