Runaway Bus Destroys Cars, Injures Nine

A Green Lines bus went mysteriously out of control in South Ozone Park last Thursday, ramming at least 15 parked cars and sending nine people to the hospital.
Kenneth Criss, 42, driver of the bus, was suspended without pay following the incident. He passed a breathalyzer test given by police afterward, but officials are still awaiting the results of drug tests. Jamie Van Bramer, a Green Lines spokesman, said that he may have suffered a sort of diabetic reaction that made him lose control of the vehicle. Criss was released from Jamaica Hospital Medical Center on Friday.
The incident occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. on 150th Street between Conduit and Sutter Avenues. The Q-7 bus plowed into cars, trees and utility poles just north of Kennedy Airport. Witnesses said it zigzagged down the street, leaving a trail of debris. One observer saw it strike a Volkswagen Jetta and push it most of a block before hitting a chain-link fence and coming to rest near Public School 45 at 126-28 150th Street Police arrived a short time later.
Nine people were treated at nearby hospitals for minor injuries. The two most seriously injured became trapped in their car after it was struck, and had to be freed before being taken to the hospital. The bus sole passenger was not hurt.
Electricity lost when utility poles were knocked down was restored Thursday night to several houses along 150th Street. Telephone service returned Friday.
According to Van Bramer, Criss driving record has been spotless except for two minor violations received in June 2000. All drivers employed by Green Lines must pass routine state driving exams every two years and must be subjected to physical examinations and random drug and alcohol tests. Criss had passed all of the tests during his seven years with the bus company.
Green Lines is one of seven private bus companies under contract with the Department of Transportation to serve areas outside Manhattan not covered by city buses. Included now in the Bloomberg administrations proposed budget cuts is a plan for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to take over the private companies. The city would save $98 million in subsidies it currently pays for private routes.
This was the second Green Lines bus involved in an accident this week. Last Monday, a bus hit and injured an Ozone Park bicyclist.