A woman and her niece visiting from Spain were seriously injured Monday morning when a tourist bus from Pennsylvania hit them in Hell’s Kitchen, pinning one underneath, police said.
The women, who were not identified, were crossing the street just before 8 a.m. by 10th Avenue and 47th Street when the Trans-Bridge Lines bus started to make a left turn. The bus struck the women, 50 and 62 years old, pinning one of them underneath the front of the bus, police said.
They were scheduled to leave New York City tomorrow, police said.
Both suffered leg injuries, police said, and the 50-year-old was taken to Weill Cornell Medical Center. The 62-year-old, who was pinned, was taken to Mount Sinai Roosevelt Hospital. Their injuries are not considered life threatening, police said.
The bus was empty at the time and the driver was taking it to a parking facility, said Dan Ronan, a Trans-Bridge Lines spokesman. The driver has been with company for 10 years, he said.
Antone DeSaints, who owns a coffee shop on the corner, ran outside after hearing about the accident and found emergency personnel working under the bus.
“You could see a lot of blood… there were a lot of people,” he said. “By the time they pulled her out from under the bus they already had a wrap on her foot and she was taken away in an ambulance.
“There’s been a lot of bus fatalities due to them trying to navigate the narrow streets here,” DeSaints added. “It’s just too narrow.”
Officials blocked traffic to the street soon after, he said.
Regis Moore, who works in apartment buildings in the area, said he was hit by a car in the same intersection a few years ago.
“There’s a blind spot when you cross the street on the far side,” Moore, 66, said. “You need a rear view mirror to walk across the street.
“I got hit right where they were,” he added. “I think they need to do something about the light there. it’s a real problem.”
Nat Horn has lived in Hell’s Kitchen since 1968 and said he often sees accidents at that intersection.
“So much happens at that corner–cars taking it too fast, it’s happened before,” he said. “It’s the sad thing about our society, were just not aware of our surroundings.”
Trans-Bridge Lines runs single-day and multiday trips, including to New York City, area casinos and Washington D.C.
