YORKVILLE — A yellow school bus jumped a curb and struck four people on the sidewalk on Monday morning, according to the NYPD.
The bus, which had no passengers in it at the time, drove up onto the sidewalk at the northwest corner of East 85th Street and Third Avenue roughly 8:20 a.m., hitting a group of Doe Fund workers who were receiving their route instructions at their staging area before cleaning the streets and sidewalks, police said.
The workers were taken to area hospitals with minor, non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities. Two were rushed to New York-Presbyterian and the rest were taken to Mount Sinai St. Luke's.
It's not immediately clear what made the driver, who police did not name, hop the curb. He was not arrested as of Monday morning.
Darren Patterson, 51, was on the corner when the Hirsch Yeshiva bus rumbled onto the sidewalk.
"The bus just jumped the curb and hit four guys," he told DNAinfo New York. "I ran out of the way. If I wouldn't have ran, I'd have gotten hit. Then I went over and checked to see if the driver was OK. He was still behind the wheel. He said he was all right and he asked about the guys on the ground. He said his brakes gave out."
He said the Doe Fund workers were shaken up and in pain.
"One guy had his leg going in a different direction," he added. "He was conscious, though. Another guy was bleeding from his hand. It was a little bit of chaos."
Breaking NYC, School bus on sidewalk 85th + 3rd. Pedestrian injured.@ShayeWeaver @ABC7NY pic.twitter.com/eTy13ScCrt
— Andrew Fine (@AFineBlogger) February 13, 2017
The Doe Fund confirmed that its workers were hit and treated at local hospitals.
"We are extremely thankful that the four trainees were not more seriously hurt, and that no other pedestrians were struck," said George T. McDonald, Doe Fund's founder and president.
"We are also grateful for the first responders who arrived immediately to tend to their injuries and ensure everyone’s safety. It’s times like these that we are reminded of what the ‘men in blue’ mean to our neighborhoods. Their commitment to creating a cleaner, safer New York City is tireless, and we have been overwhelmed by the concern and expressions of support from our friends, neighbors, and elected officials."
