Tourism is a primary industry in New York City. However, it carries with it some dangers. Visitors are not familiar with traffic patterns and may step into traffic not realizing that a vehicle is coming. Tour buses ply the city, sometimes going into very narrow streets. The driver often sits well above the pavement with a line of sight that may not reveal everything on the street below. A recent tour bus accident seriously injured an elderly pedestrian in Manhattan, illustrating the dangers posed by these types of buses.
The bus, a double-decker operated by the tour company City Sights, struck the woman in the West Village last Wednesday afternoon. She was hit by the front tires and pulled under the bus, then rolling under the back tires. She suffered multiple life-threatening injuries and was taken to Bellevue Hospital by ambulance. Her condition is unknown.
The double-decker bus was heading south on Seventh Avenue around 5 PM near West 14th Street when the accident occurred. Police said the victim was pinned under the bus. Witnesses said it looked as if the driver did not see the pedestrian, although others suggested that the driver ran a red light or that the woman was jaywalking.
Some witnesses suggested that the victim was either jaywalking or that the bus ran a red light. But another witness said that it appeared that the bus driver simply did not see her. That witness reported that the woman appeared to have head injuries and broken legs and said that there was a lot of blood on the street.
The New York Police Department Highway Patrol is investigating the bloody accident.
Source: New York Post, “Woman injured in double decker tour bus accident,” Jun. 18, 2014.