No serious injuries after AC Transit bus crashes into building in Oakland, fire officials say

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — No one was seriously injured after a crash sent an AC Transit bus into a building Tuesday in Oakland, according to agency officials.

The accident happened just before 1:30 p.m. at the intersection of Foothill and 68th Ave.

“I look up and see an AC Transit bus going into the building. So yeah, it was scary,” says Aurelio Gomes. He owns Minute Muffler Service, across the street from the crash site.

“It was brutal. Sparks, and of course, there was water and stuff lying around. And people screaming. It was a tense situation,” said Gomes, adding that he was worried that the bus might catch fire or that the building would collapse.

AC Transit officials say that just after 1:30 p.m., the bus was crossing the intersection of 68th Avenue and Foothill Boulevard when it collided with a small Nissan SUV.

Police are still trying to determine who had the green light at the intersection.

Firefighters had to help get people out of the bus.

“It required the assistance of the fire department to extract the driver from the driver’s compartment. As you can see the door of the bus, which was on the passenger’s side, is severely damaged. So, they had to cut the reverse side to remove the operator. She is ok at this time,” says AC Transit spokesperson Robert Lyles.

Lyles says there were nine people on the bus, including the driver. There were two people in the SUV. Lyles says the bus was not traveling at a fast speed, which likely helped to limit the damage.

“In spite of the damage that we see here, the good news is that there are no severe injuries,” explains Lyles.

Gomes says this is a busy intersection. And that lots of drivers run the red light. AC Transit says it has a strong safety record on the streets. Gomes agrees.

“Usually, they cruise by. I have been here a little over 20 years. And that’s the first time an AC Transit bus do that,” says Gomes.