Two Dead, Several Injured In Pleasantville Bus Crash
By Steve Patterson, Molly Daly
PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. (CBS) — A collision between a car and a bus in Pleasantville, New Jersey Monday afternoon has claimed the lives of two people and injured at least eight others.
This happened at the intersection of North Franklin Boulevard and Old Turnpike just before 2 p.m.
The NJ Transit bus was headed from Atlantic City to the Hamilton Mall when a car carrying six people jumped the median and hit the bus head-on.
Pleasantville Police say two people in the car, one of them the driver, were killed and the other four passengers were taken to the hospital.
The bus driver and at least three passengers were hurt, but authorities say their injuries are not life-threatening. There were ten people total on the bus.
Pedestrian Michael Almeyda almost became another victim Monday:
"It looked like the bus was coming towards me so I started running," he tells CBS3 Eyewitness News, "and as I kept running, the bus kept coming, so I had to run across the street so it wouldn't hit me."
Although he was hurt, the bus driver had the presence of mind to get the bus out of the road and onto the sidewalk in an apparent effort to prevent another collision.
Witnesses say the car was speeding on the road that has a speed limit of 25 mph posted.
Police continue to investigate speed and other factors to see if they played a role in the crash.
