A school bus went careening off a busy Brooklyn roadway Thursday morning before jumping a curb and smashing into the entrance of an apartment building — but miraculously, no students were aboard.
The frightening crash happened shortly after 7:20 a.m. Sept. 17 at 869 Eastern Parkway in Crown Heights, near Albany Avenue, according to police and local reports.
The yellow bus was traveling westbound along Eastern Parkway when it suddenly veered from the roadway, crossed the service lane and sidewalk and slammed into the four-story residential building.
Surveillance video obtained by ABC7 New York shows the bus leaving the road, crossing the intersection and narrowly missing several obstacles before plowing into the structure.
Witnesses said the bus also knocked down a tree before reaching the building.
The 65-year-old driver was the only person aboard.
Early reports differed slightly over whether he was injured. The NYPD told PEOPLE that the driver declined medical treatment, while later local reports described him as suffering minor injuries. Officials agreed that he was not seriously hurt.
Most importantly, no children were riding the bus at the time.
No pedestrians or building residents were reported injured either.
One resident told CBS New York that he was standing nearby as the bus headed toward the building and had only seconds to react.
The impact caused significant damage to the building’s entrance and façade, and the bus remained lodged against the structure as emergency crews arrived.
When crews later removed the bus, CBS New York reported that portions of the damaged façade and a balcony came crashing down.
Firefighters evacuated the building as a precaution while inspectors from the New York City Department of Buildings examined whether the structure remained safe.
Later Thursday, the Department of Buildings issued a partial vacate order covering several apartments, according to ABC7.
Under New York City rules, a partial vacate order is used when inspectors determine that part of a building may be unsafe while other sections can remain occupied. The order stays in effect until the hazardous condition has been corrected and the city clears the affected area.
The American Red Cross also responded to help displaced residents, registering 20 adults and six children for possible emergency relocation assistance.
The timing of the crash made the outcome especially fortunate.
Residents told local outlet COLlive that children are normally outside in the neighborhood waiting for school buses around that hour, but no students happened to be standing in the immediate area when the bus left the roadway.
Authorities have not announced what caused the driver to lose control.
No arrests have been announced, and investigators have not publicly said whether mechanical failure, a medical issue, another vehicle or some other factor played a role.
The NYPD investigation remains ongoing, while city building officials are continuing to assess the damage and determine what repairs will be required before displaced residents can safely return.
For now, one of the biggest unanswered questions is why the bus suddenly veered across the roadway in the middle of the morning commute — and how an accident that caused such dramatic structural damage ended without anyone being seriously hurt.