BUFFALO, N.Y. (WBEN) - Eight people were injured after an SUV struck an NFTA Metro Bus, which then struck a home on Bailey Avenue near Walden on Friday morning.
A witness told WBEN that the white Mazda swerved into the opposite lane leading to the metro bus moving to the right, which then hit the home. Police just put a man into the back of a squad car. pic.twitter.com/2lNCv46SpP
— WBEN NewsRadio 930AM (@NewsRadio930) January 4, 2019
Police said the incident happened at 10:45 a.m. when a white SUV, traveling north on Bailey, crossed over the double-yellow lines and swiped the bus. The bus then swerved to the right and hit the home. Nobody inside the home was injured.
Of the eight people injured, seven were taken to the hospital including one infant. None of the injuries were life threatening.
Transit Police charged the SUV driver Oscar Baez, 30, with DWI, reckelss driving, and unlicensed operation of a motor vehicle. The Buffalo man was taken to the Erie County Holding Center.
A look at the driver of the SUV who was detained after this morning's crash on Bailey Avenue that left eight people injured. pic.twitter.com/C1OsfQt0AJ
— WBEN NewsRadio 930AM (@NewsRadio930) January 4, 2019Autumn Dolyk was among the passengers on the bus during the incident and said the SUV scraped the side of the bus. She didn't suffer any injuries but said she began hyperventalating as the scene unfolded.
"One girl on the bus said she smelled gas and we had ot make sure the bus wasn't going to catch on fire or the house," Dolyk told WBEN. "Turns out when the people that were in the house came outside to see what happened, it turned out to be a couple girls I went to high school with."
Dolyk said the bus driver had glass thrown all over him and one of the passengers was forced to the opposite side of the bus upon impact and suffered cuts. Dolyk got out of the bus by using the emergency exits.
Inside the home was Diamond Green who was in the bedroom immediately above where the bus struck the house. She described the impact as a loud "boom" and said her heart dropped and her body shook during the ordeal.
"They told us don't come out of the house," she said. "Then they told us (later) to come out of the house because they thought the house was going to collapse. It shook me up even more. It was crazy."
Damage to the home is estimated at $40,000.
