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Fourteen injured in Boston bus crash

E-mail|Link|Comments () May 29, 2010 07:40 PM

By John M. Guilfoil, Globe Staff

Fourteen people, including five children, were injured in a crash this evening involving an MBTA bus and a minivan at Gallivan Boulevard and Morton Street in Boston's Dorchester section, authorities said.

The crash was reported at 6:20 p.m., said Officer James Kenneally, a Boston Police spokesman.

The smashed vehicles could be seen resting less than 500 feet from a Boston firehouse. Rescue workers loaded several people, including several children, into Boston Emergency Medical Services ambulances for transport to hospitals.

None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, MBTA police said.

Damage could be seen to the front driver's side corner of the bus and one side of the minivan. Shattered glass and plastic littered the street.

Dr. Lee Wetzler, an internal medicine specialist at Boston Medical Center, was in the area and stopped to give assistance to the occupants of the minivan, who included a driver and children.

"You just want to keep them calm in a situation like this and let them know help is on the way," he said. "I wanted to make sure everbody was OK, and I heard a lot of yelling and screaming, which is a good thing."

Firefighters from Engine 16 were returning to the firehouse from an oil burner fire when they saw the crash happen and called it in before racing to help.

Fire Captain Jonathan Rodriguez said there were two adults and three children in the minivan.

He said it was a bad crash, but thankfully, nobody was killed.

Transit Police Sergeant Detective Kenneth Sprague said a preliminary investigation indicated that the minivan had run a stop sign at the intersection.

Globe correspondent Christopher Girard and Martin Finucane of the Globe staff contributed to this report.