A bus driver and one passenger were hospitalized after a harrowing crash in Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Tuesday when a bus smashed into a building, causing chaos on Route 28 near the Cape Cod Mall. According to Barnstable Police, the Cape Cod Regional Transit Authority bus veered off the road after the driver suffered what was described as a medical event, taking down two utility poles before colliding with a home improvement store. The incident, which occurred around 10 a.m., necessitated the closure of a portion of the route while emergency services worked the scene, Boston 25 News reported.
The driver and a singular passenger were both taken to the Cape Cod Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. An unscheduled stop was made into part of the Copeland Subaru building, off Falmouth Road, where the bus also struck a telephone pole and ruptured a gas line — no other vehicles were involved. WHDH added that the chaos provoked a group of good Samaritans into action, who rushed to aid those affected by the crash.
"There was about ten people running over – it was more to just make sure the driver was coherent," Justin Bearse, a witness, told 7NEWS. The fortunate absence of further injury was noted by Assistant Chief Mark Storie of the Hyannis Fire Department, who mentioned the good luck of a man inside the building, who was unharmed after the vehicle came barging in. "A little bit of luck on our side – there was no rescue attempt that needed to be made, we were able to be patient, evacuate the area and call utility companies to stabilize the utilities," Storie explained during the cleanup efforts.
By late afternoon, the damaged bus was towed from the crash site. However, utility crews remained to restore power and repair the damage to the infrastructure. The crash also left a parked car in the lot damaged, highlighting the destructive yet seemingly random pathway of the incident. As of the reporting, details regarding the driver's specific medical emergency that led to the accident have not been disclosed, and updates on the conditions of the driver and the passenger are still pending. Meanwhile, 95 WXTK confirms that the area has been made safe and an investigation into the crash is ongoing.
