A speeding pickup truck driver was killed and a bus driver and his passenger were seriously injured when the pickup crossed the center line and collided with the bus in Roslyn Heights, Long Island, Tuesday morning, cops said.
Witnesses said the driver of the 2006 Dodge Dakota was speeding southbound on Roslyn Road near Heathcote Drive about 9 a.m. when the truck veered over the center line and crashed into the Coach USA bus, knocking it into a roadside tree.
“The guy in the black pickup truck was speeding and driving like a maniac all the way back by Roslyn high school. Just after he flew by me, he lost control, turned to the left and hit the bus,” said a witness, Doron Pergament, 38, who was on the road at the time of the fatal crash.
After the crash, he ran to the truck driver’s aid — but it was too late.
“I just checked the pulse and he was dead,” he said of the unidentified driver.
Pergament then dashed to the bus and saw that a passenger and the driver were trapped inside.
“The passenger was stuck in the fetal position where the steps are. He said he was going to his sister’s house and that he has two kids. I was trying to calm him down while he told me the story of his life,” he explained.
Rescuers had a tough time freeing the injured victims.
“It took us over an hour to get them out. The passenger was really wedged in there. The floor of the bus crinkled up like an accordion, so it was really hard for us to get him out of there. The driver had a real serious cut around his ear,” said Jole Melamed, chief of the Alberton Fire Department.
The Coach driver and his lone passenger were taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries that were not considered life-threatening, cops said.
Nassau cops later sent out an advisory that Roslyn Road was closed in both directions between Willets Road and Robbins Drive as the investigation into the fatal crash continued.