Philadelphia

3 Hurt After SEPTA Bus Jumps Median, Lands in Front of Freight Train in South Philadelphia

A SEPTA bus jumped over a concrete median and onto train tracks — landing in front of a freight train — in South Philadelphia Tuesday evening injuring three people.

The Route 29 bus crashed along Columbus Boulevard near Dickinson Street at 6:05 p.m., according to SEPTA and eyewitnesses. The bus came to a rest in the path of a CSX freight train traveling northbound in the road's median.

Lauren Ferrett was driving southbound along the busy thoroughfare when she saw the bus, which was traveling on the opposite side of the road, pull into a turnabout at a high-rate of speed.

"It came into the lane I was driving in and it kept turning and landed on the tracks," the 32-year-old Bella Vista resident said. “It was clear that something was wrong."

A SEPTA spokeswoman said the bus was trying to detour around the train, which was blocking the intersection of Columbus Boulevard and Tasker Street at the time of the crash.

Both front windshields were broken out of the bus. Ferrett saw the driver lying on the ground outside the vehicle, she said.

Two passengers and the driver suffered minor injuries in the incident, SEPTA said. At least one woman could be seen being taken away by paramedics on a stretcher. She was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, fire officials tell NBC10. SEPTA preliminarily said four people had been hurt, but later revised the number.

Columbus Boulevard is at least three lanes wide in each direction in this part of the city and is divided by train tracks used to carry freight up and down the waterfront.

The train was either stopped or traveling at a very slow speed when the bus entered into its path, Ferrett said.

SEPTA is investigating the crash.

Contact Us