MTA buses were in more than 21K collisions in just 3 years to date.
MTA buses racked up at least 21,823 crashes, collisions and other mishaps over 31 months beginning in 2015 — an average of 23 per day, they’ve rear-ended school buses, plowed into a church, hit bicyclists and pedestrians and sent riders flying with abrupt stops and turns. One driver this year slammed into multiple parked vehicles on a major avenue due to being at work under the influence of Georgi Vodka.
At least 2,520 people — or 2.7 per day — were injured during the time period, according to the MTA. At least 14 people died, including a 25-year-old skateboarder, a 62-year-old pedestrian, a 60-year-old motorist and a 70-year-old with a walker who was mutilated by a hit-and-run bus.
School buses were involved in at least 180 accidents, the data show. In one case, a 9-year-old boy and a 54-year-old woman were taken to the hospital when an MTA bus rear-ended their school bus.
Michael Gunzburg, a lawyer who has represented injured riders, said the MTA hides the true picture of bus calamities.
“They should be a lot more transparent about the total number of accidents, the nature of accidents, the types of injuries, and those claimed to be their fault,” he said.
Recent court testimony in the case of an injured passenger, The Post reported, revealed that bus drivers call MTA dispatch — not the cops — when crashes occur. A special squad in every borough rushes to the scene to do measurements, interview witnesses and take photos.
“They’ll send people to the scene to mount a defense before the injured victim is even loaded into an ambulance,” said personal-injury lawyer Keith Sullivan, who called the number of accidents “astronomical.”
This year alone saw accidents on the B82 Line near Flatlands Ave & 52nd Street , the B9 line near East 4th Street & Avenue N, the B44 and today’s incident the B45 crashing into a building on Ralph Avenue & St. Marks in Crown Heights.