Bus, FedEx truck collide, several injured

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Multiple people suffered injuries after a Miami-Dade Transit bus and FedEx truck collided, Tuesday.

Rescue crews responded to a mass casualty incident, just before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, in the area of Northwest 17th Street and Seventh Avenue.

According to City of Miami Fire Rescue Lt. Ignatius Carroll, it appeared that the FedEx delivery truck ran a red light and struck the bus. "I was sitting in the back, and I just heard the screech and the slam; people were flying everywhere," said Daniel Perez, a passenger on the bus. "Some people were lying around me, just make sure they were OK, sit back and there was somebody lying on the floor and said that they wanted to stay there, again just making sure that everyone was OK."

Fire rescue officials had to check out a total of 25 people on the scene of the accident. Officials said 18 people, including the bus driver, suffered minor injuries and were taken to area hospitals. "On our initial response we had maybe five to maybe 10 people who were complaining of some injuries so that made it a Level 1 mass casualty incident," said Carroll. "But as we started assessing patients inside the bus, we found that more people were complaining about injuries and that turned into a Level 2."

At the time of the accident, there were 30 people on board the bus, including a 16-year-old wheelchair-bound passenger who required medical treatment. "The one concern that we did have initially was a 16-year-old little girl who was on the bus, who was wheelchair-bound, not sure what kind of injuries she sustained, but she was transported to an area hospital," said Carroll.

The injured were transported to Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami's Doctors Hospital, South Miami Hospital and Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Authorities said there were no life-threatening injuries.

(Copyright 2012 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Photo Courtesy Robert Valentin

(Copyright 2012 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)