A crash involving an NYPD squad unit set off a domino effect involving a charter bus and a delivery truck in Tribeca Saturday morning.
Three people were injured, including a police officer, authorities said.
“It was a very aggressive shake, very intense hit,” said Nick Varsanes, who works at a coffee shop in the building that was hit at the corner of Broadway and Walker St. “Out of nowhere, I heard a police siren wailing really fast, and then simultaneously a bus was coming across, or crossing the street, and they collided,” he told NBC New York.
Police say the NYPD vehicle was traveling south on Broadway when it struck a charter bus on Walker Street just before 6 a.m. The impact forced the charter bus to crash into a parked truck that was delivering food to the Blue Bottle Coffee shop on the corner. Inside that truck were a 49-year-old driver and a 36-year-old passenger who were injured and taken to a hospital, according to police.
“The bus came right at the banister here by the window and crashed and shook the building,” said Varsanes. “Just a lot of debris and I’m learning that we are (a) historical landmark in this building as well.”
The building went up in 1899 and once served as an office building before becoming a boutique hotel.
The officer inside the squad unit was also taken to the hospital for non-critical injuries. Police are investigating who had the right of way and whether speeding and/or distracted driving played a role.
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