RIPTA Bus Crashes into Building, 3 Hospitalized

Update: 10:32 p.m.: the roof of the building has collapsed after officials removed the bus from the building.

WARWICK, RI—A Rhode Island Public Transit Authority bus crashed into a Post Road business after the driver had an apparent medical emergency Monday night.

Several people were trapped on the bus after it hit a snowbank and a telephone pole before crashing into The Driver’s Seat, an auto parts store, at around 7:15 p.m.

All the injured were treated for non life-threatening injuries and police are asking for any witnesses to step forward and offer any information they might have.

Post Road was closed in both directions covering an area of about a half-mile as crews worked to free the passengers trapped on the bus. Traffic was being diverted onto Route 37 and the road is expected to be closed for several hours.

It took crews more than an hour to free the passengers because of how the bus ended up wedged against the building.

Police interviewed several witnesses a the scene but noted that the busy stretch of Post Road near the Cranston and Warwick line suggests that someone else out there might have seen the crash. They are being asked to call the department’s main number at 401-468-4200 and leave a name and contact information with dispatchers so police can follow up.

The driver was conscious and alert inside the ambulance after he was extricated from the bus, said Warwick Mayor Scott Avedesian, and he told the mayor that he has been a bus driver for 30 years. He happens to share the same last name as the mayor, but there is no relation.

Three people were transported to the hospital for non life-threatening injuries, including the driver. Police believe there may have been a third passenger on the bus who somehow got off and left the scene.

Police are reviewing video footage from the bus to help them investigate what happened.

The crash happened the same day that RIPTA released a safety video.

Photo courtesy: @Rocket_No9