Photo courtesy of Russell Parrish.
A tour bus heading to Resorts World Casino on Monday afternoon plowed through a two-story brick apartment building on Woodhaven Boulevard in Rego Park, Queens, according to the Fire Department of New York (FDNY).
Multiple people were injured in the 2:25 p.m. crash, an FDNY spokesman said. Seven people have been transported to local hospitals with “serious injuries,” he said, and others with minor injuries were treated at the scene.
None of their injuries appear to be life-threatening, he said.
The shattered building at the corner of Woodhaven and 63rd Avenue also houses the offices of Anne Landers, attorney at law. No one picked up the phone at Landers’ office on Monday.
Scanner listeners reported on Twitter that the driver of the 40-passenger bus was pinned behind the wheel of the bus and had to be extricated from the wreckage.
Resorts World Casino is located near the JFK Airport in Queens. Third-party shuttle companies run free buses to the casino approximately every hour from five different locations in Brooklyn, Queens and Manhattan.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with those impacted by today’s bus accident,” Resorts World Casino said in a statement. “We are cooperating fully with the authorities in the investigation.”
The company that was operating the bus, Trans Express, released a similar statement: “We are working with the local authorities as well as conducting our own investigation into the accident,” it said. “Those involved in today’s accident are in our thoughts and prayers.”