AP

1 Dead, 4 Injured in NYC Bus-Truck Crash

A city bus and a box truck believed to have been stolen collided at Manhattan intersection early Wednesday, sending both vehicles onto the sidewalk and into scaffolding, killing the bus driver and injuring at least four other people, authorities said.

It wasn’t immediately clear what caused the crash, which occurred around 5:30 a.m. in a busy commercial district in Greenwich Village. Streets in the vicinity were closed to traffic.

Police identified the victim as the driver of the bus, whom they did not name. Fire officials said two people were critically injured in the crash and at least two other people suffered minor injuries.

Among those injured was a coffee cart vendor, who was hospitalized in stable condition, Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. He said the vendor was struck by the box truck.

The MTA has not been able to independently confirm that the bus driver was killed, Ortiz said.

Police said there were two passengers on the bus at the time of the crash. They said the truck driver, who also suffered minor injuries, was being questioned at the hospital.

“Apparently a stolen box truck traveling on 7th Avenue struck a M14 bus” at the intersection, Ortiz said. Police did not immediately confirm that the truck was stolen.

The injured were taken to Beth Israel Hospital.

Both vehicles careened onto the sidewalk and into scaffolding that collapsed around them before striking a 12-story commercial building at 14th Street and 7th Avenue. Several parked cars were also hit.