The crash happened on Market Street around 12:30 a.m., with the No. 21 bus traveling east toward Newark-Penn Station.
Following the collision, the New Jersey Transit bus careened onto the sidewalk and smashed into the facade of a commercial building. The store, an old furniture warehouse and department store that is about 100 years old and has been vacant for years, was in bad shape to begin with, and plywood and the metal security gate came crashing down on the bus.
The impact caused severe structural damage, and it is believed that the bus is the only thing keeping the building from collapsing. Engineers say the columns are all cracked and the bus is supporting the entire structure.
It is likely that the building will have to come down, as it poses a hazard to the neighborhood. Engineering is reaching out to Neighborhood Services to in turn reach out to the landlords, tenants and relevant insurance companies.
The taxi was also a crumpled mess, the front of the yellow cab completely crushed.
The drivers of the vehicles, along with eight bus passengers, were treated at the scene and transported to University of Medicine and Dentistry Hospital for medical treatment.
The driver of the bus suffered a head injury, but has since been treated and released. The remaining victims all suffered non-life threatening injuries.
This investigation is ongoing. It is unclear how many passengers were on the bus at the time or the circumstances of the crash.
