Bus crashes into Washington restaurant, 3 injured

A Metrobus crashed into a Washington, D.C., restaurant on Saturday after an SUV allegedly ran a red light, injuring three people, local officials said.

At 7:13 a.m., the DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department responded to a call at 7th and Q Streets in the Shaw neighborhood, according to agency spokesman Vito Maggiolo. Officials found a Metrobus lodged inside an empty restaurant and a gray Chevrolet Traverse SUV damaged in the street. Images provided by DC Fire and EMS showed the bus well inside Ambar Restaurant, located at the corner of the intersection.

Three women − the bus driver, a bus rider and the SUV driver − had minor injuries and were transported to the hospital, Maggiolo said.

The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority said in an email the SUV struck the D4X bus at the intersection, causing the bus to crash into the building. The Metropolitan Police Department, which is investigating the crash, accused the SUV driver of running a red light.

In an email, Metropolitan Police spokesman Lee Lepe said the collision between the bus and SUV caused the bus to crash into the building. Police issued the SUV driver an infraction notice for allegedly running a red light. The driver was not arrested, Lepe said.

Firefighters worked to break up concrete to remove the bus from the building, Maggiolo said. The building had significant damage but had no structural issues. Officials cleared the scene about five hours later, including removing the bus from the storefront.

Maggiolo said it wasn’t the first time he visited the same building for a bus hitting it. In the mid-1980s, a bus crashed at predawn into the building, which then was older and decrepit, said Maggiolo, who was taking pictures with the fire department at the time.

Asked if it was coincidence or specific roadway issues, he said, “I would go with serendipity.”

Ambar Restaurant, which has three locations serving Balkan food around the DC region, didn’t respond to requests for comment.

This article originally appeared on USA Today

Reporting by Eduardo Cuevas, USA Today

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