What to Know
- At least one person was seriously injured, though it wasn't clear if the person had been in the truck or the bus
- It's not clear what caused the head-on collision, but Springfield Avenue in Maplewood, New Jersey, was shut down until further notice
- Dozens of first responders and law enforcement vehicles remained at the scene, near an NJ Transit bus depot, through the afternoon Tuesday
An NJ Transit bus and a garbage truck collided head on in New Jersey Tuesday afternoon, leaving the bus' driver dead and four other people with serious injuries.
Essex County prosecutors said the driver was pronounced dead after undergoing surgery folowing the No. 25 bus he was driving smashed into the garbage truck on Springfield Avenue in Maplewood about 1 p.m.
There were no passengers aboard the bus at the time; the truck's driver and three passengers were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
Chopper 4 footage from over the scene showed the front of the NJ Transit bus reduced to what looked like a vehicle in a junkyard heap, the front of it completely demolished as sand and other debris littered the roadway.
Dozens of first responders and law enforcement vehicles remained at the scene, near an NJ Transit bus depot, through the afternoon Tuesday. It wasn't clear if either vehicle was believed to have been driving on the wrong side of the street.
Springfield Avenue was be closed in both directions between Chancellor Avenue and Becker Terrace for several hours following the crash.
