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Bus, livery-cab crash bangs up straphangers at busy Downtown corner

Bus, livery-cab crash bangs up straphangers at busy Downtown corner
Community Newspaper Group / Matthew Perlman

Ten people were injured, two seriously, when a livery cab driver smashed into a bus at the corner of Myrtle Avenue and Flatbush Avenue Extension shortly after noon on Feb. 4.

The B54 bus was stopped at the light on Myrtle Avenue around 12:15 pm, heading towards MetroTech Center, when the hack, Manhattan-Bridge-bound on Flatbush, bashed the front of the bus on the driver’s side, throwing passengers and rattling nerves.

“I was terrified,” said Nesha Bastien, who was riding the bus home from school when the crash happened and, at first, had no idea what caused it. “It could have been a big truck that hit us.”

The collision backed up traffic on both roads.

“This really screwed me up,” said Anthony Stoddard, who was trying to drive his Old Dominion tractor-trailer truck down Myrtle Avenue at the time. “I can’t make my pick-ups.”

The bus teetered on impact, making some straphangers fear a roll-over.

“The bus titled a little bit,” said Bria Martin, who was on her way to work. “I thought it was going to tip.”

Medics took the two seriously injured victims to The Brooklyn Hospital Center and Kings County Hospital Center. The rest of the passengers were released at the scene.

The incident had some riders rethinking their commutes.

“I’m definitely going to think twice about getting on a bus,” said Victoria Anderson-Phipps. “I don’t think I even want to drive anymore.”

Reach reporter Matthew Perlman at (718) 260-8310. E-mail him at mperlman@cnglocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewjperlman.