After a horrific crash involving a car and a CTA bus that killed four people and injured five others, eyewitnesses described the chaotic scene on Chicago’s West Side.
The crash, which occurred just before 6:00 a.m. in the 2600 block of W. Madison St., claimed the lives of all four occupants of a white sedan that crashed into a CTA bus after colliding with a parked car.
Cellphone video showed the horrific aftermath of the crash, and eyewitnesses described a chaotic scene where bystanders were trying to save those victims pinned in the car.
“It was really bad. I ain’t never seen anything like this in all my life,” witness Bernard Crowder said. “We were trying to get the doors to open up, but it was too much. There was nothing we could do.”
The four people in the sedan were extracted and taken in critical condition to area hospitals where they were pronounced dead, authorities said. Details on their ages or identities were not immediately available.
The driver of the CTA bus and four passengers riding on the bus suffered non-life-threatening injuries, according to police.
“The bus driver got off the bus and was fine,” eyewitness Malinda Demery said. “She was shaken up, but she was able to walk and talk.”
Update on fatal CTA bus accident on Madison: 4 dead, 4 injured. Madison CLOSED for investigation between California and Western @nbcchicago
— Marley Kayden (@MarleyKayden) May 7, 2017
NBC 5 Responds learned via FOIA request that there have been 1,058 reported collisions between CTA buses and other motor vehicles since 2012. The cause of Saturday's crash remains under investigation.
