BUSHWICK — A Q54 bus careened down Palmetto Street early Wednesday — crashing into parked cars and sending pedestrians diving for cover — after a rookie MTA driver put it in neutral instead of park and stepped out to buy something from a bodega, police said.
The bus nearly hit one man who had been changing a tire on Palmetto Street when the female MTA driver — who had only been on the job for three days — left the bus on Irving Street about 12:15 a.m., leaving the vehicle to slide in reverse toward Knickerbocker Avenue, an NYPD spokesman said.
Runaway bus! @MTA bus rolls in reverse striking six cars and a pedestrian overnight on Palmetto Street in Bushwick. @PIX11News pic.twitter.com/2YUHpT7KBj
— Anthony DiLorenzo (@ADiLorenzoTV) June 21, 2017
"The bus was going full speed down the block," said witness Angelica Salemi, 25, who shot the footage. "Once it passed us, it was like 'Holy crap, there's no one on the bus!' It hit three cars and then crashed into a fence."
The man dove out of the path of the hurtling bus just before it smashed into parked cars and finally crashed to a halt against a metal fence outside St. Paul's Lutheran Church at 592 Knickerbocker Ave., police said.
Bennie Garcia, 45, was home and in bed when she said she heard a loud bang.
"I looked out and saw my neighbor's son on the ground. He was on his back and blood was coming from his nose," Garcia said.
"The bus kept rolling down. I was like, 'Who's driving this thing?' But I didn't see anyone in there. I couldn't believe it was happening. It had to be going at least 20 miles per hour," Garcia added.
The bus driver chased after her wayward vehicle, yelling, "Please, stop the bus! Help! Help!" Garcia said.
"She was about a quarter of a block away, but it kept going. It hit at least five cars. It was swerving all over. It was like bumper cars," Garcia said.
(DNAinfo/Trevor Kapp)
The man was treated for minor injuries at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center, police said.
Investigators believe the crash was an accident and the driver wasn't immediately charged, a spokesman said.
"We are grateful no one was seriously hurt," said JP Patafio, who represents bus operators for the Transit Workers United.
"[The driver] is obviously very, very upset and we're working to assist her," Patafio added.
An MTA spokesman said that the incident is under investigation.
Salemi said it's just another indication the agency is spiraling out of control.
"I thought the MTA shouldn't raise their fares if they have drivers like that," she said.
