By Madina Toure
A 60-year-old man driving the wrong way in Hillcrest died after he crashed into an MTA bus Monday night, police said, with the bus driver and a female passenger suffering injuries.
At about 8:30 p.m., police responded to a call of a motor vehicle accident at the intersection of Union Turnpike and 174th Street, according to the police.
The motor vehicle accident involved a 2004 Ford Sedan and a 2011 MTA New York City Transit bus, police said.
The operator of the Ford, a 60-year-old man, was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS, officials said.
The 44-year-old male operator of the MTA bus was taken to Elmhurst General Hospital with minor injuries and a 64-year-old female passenger on the bus was taken to Queens General Hospital with minor injuries, police said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the Ford was traveling westbound on Union Turnpike when it veered into the eastbound lanes and struck the bus head-on, which was traveling eastbound in the right lane on Union Turnpike east of East 174th Street, police added.
The identity of the Ford’s driver was pending family notification and the investigation was ongoing by the NYPD’s Collision Investigation Squad, officials said.
Kevin Ortiz, an MTA spokesman, said the structure of the bus may have saved lives.
“The overall structural integrity of the bus was able to prevent an even further tragedy by protecting the bus operator and customers on the bus,” Ortiz said in a statement.
Reach reporter Madina Toure by e-mail at mtour
