Fire Rescue News - Crash involving bus and two cars injures 24 in Atlantic City

ATLANTIC CITY — Two dozen people were injured Thursday morning after a crash involving a bus and two cars.

The Sun Lee Bus Co. vehicle and about 50 passengers were heading to

"There was traffic stopped in front of him and he realized he was having issues stopping the bus," Capt. Joseph Nolan said.

The bus initially struck a center divider, then rear-ended a Mazda, which spun around. The bus then hit the retaining wall between the road and the bay and skidded along the wall, Love said.

He dismissed initial reports that the bus flipped on its roof or side.

“If it had, it would have gone into the bay,” Love said. “We’re lucky it didn’t go through that, or we would have had a much worse incident on our hands.”

The driver — whose name has not yet been released — was injured after he was thrown from the vehicle.

Police Department spokeswoman Sgt. Monica McMenamin said Thursday night that the driver was ejected forward from the bus and then the bus kept going and ran over his left arm. She said it appears the bus rode along the curb of the small bridge to avoid other vehicles.

Love said the bus driver and a passenger had to be taken to the Regional Trauma Unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City. Love said nine others were sent to the hospital’s city campus. He said the driver was in critical condition but had made it through an operation. No further information was available.

Another 13 passengers were split between Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point and AtlantiCare’s campuses in Hammonton and Galloway Township.

McMenamin said there was one adult and two children, ages 5 and 11, all from Atlantic City, in the car the bus hit. They were taken to a hospital and treated and released. That car then hit another car holding two Egg Harbor Township residents who were not seriously injured.

One of the cars involved suffered only minor damage and was driven from the scene, Love said. The other was totaled.

Those passengers who were not injured were sent to the Tropicana Casino and Resort, their original destination. It was not clear how they would return home.

Tropicana President and CEO Mark Giannantonio said he was saddened to hear about the accident.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured,” he said.

No IDs were released Thursday, and McMenamin said more information will be released today.

The cause of the accident is under investigation by David Trivers of the Traffic Unit.

No one was at the bus company’s Brooklyn, N.Y., headquarters — on the second floor of a nondescript apartment building — Thursday afternoon. But neighbors did say they often saw Sun Lee buses parked on the street.

Eastbound drivers were limited to the left lane on Albany Avenue coming into the city for about an hour after the crash, while emergency vehicles spilled into the right lane.

Atlantic City and county emergency services were called to the scene to help transport all the injured. Helicopters also circled the scene and at least two ambulances left the scene with lights flashing.

The Atlantic City Fire Department had to get into the vehicle and shut off the engine, Fire Chief Dennis Brooks said.

The bus was towed from the scene at about 2:30 p.m. About a half-hour earlier, an investigator was seen looking through the bus, which had a severely damaged front and and side, the doors hanging at an angle.

Staff writer Dan Good and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

Contact Lynda Cohen:  609-272-7257  LCohen@pressofac.com

Contact Elaine Rose:  609-272-7215  ERose@pressofac.com

Update: Posted in BREAKING | ATLANTIC CITY on Friday, June 25, 2010 11:31 am Updated: 5:30 pm.

ATLANTIC CITY--Four people remain hospitalized in intensive care following Thurday's bus crash on Albany Avenue, police said.

Police said Friday that bus driver Chin Cheung Pang, 57, of Brooklyn, was in the left lane of Albany Avenue heading toward the city when he saw traffic waiting for the light at the intersection of Albany and West End avenues.

Pang hit the brakes and began skidding and steered toward the right lane, hitting a Mazda being driven by Rusita Ortiz, 40, of Atlantic City, sending her car spinning, police said.

Police initially  believed Pang was thrown from the bus and run over by it, but say they no longer believe that to be the case.

Police Sgt. Robert Clarke said Pang was thrown, but they believe the injuries to his arms occurred when he threw his arms up as he went through the window.

Pang is in the Regional Trauma Unit at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center and is on a ventilator due to the severe facial injuries he suffered.

Ortiz, a 13-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy in her car all went to the hospital after complaining of neck and back injuries. They were treated and released. 

Police say a third driver, Patrick Kasenenko, 35, of Chicopee, Mass., was not injured after the bus struck his car. Kasenenko drove his car away.

Police say they are examining the bus' data recorder for more information.

They also plan to do a re-creation of the accident next week.

The Sun Lee Bus Co. vehicle and about 50 passengers were heading to the resort from Chinatown at about 11:25 a.m. when the crash occurred on Route 40 near the intersection at West End Avenue.

In all, 23 passengers were injured.

Those passengers who were not injured were sent to the Tropicana Casino and Resort, their original destination. It was not clear how they would return home.