Multiple injuries have been reported after a packed SEPTA Route 13 trolley was struck by a paratransit vehicle late Tuesday morning. The incident happened near the intersection of 41st Street and Chester Avenue at around 11:30 a.m., according to reports, after a collision between a CCT Connect paratransit bus and another car.
At least 31 people were injured in the incident, according to a report by NBC10 Philadelphia. The drivers of the vehicles involved in the collision were taken to the hospital, and their condition is currently unknown. None of the injuries sustained by the trolley passengers are considered life-threatening, according to reports.
Following the accident, SEPTA Trolley Routes 10, 11, 13, 34 and 36 were put on diversion to 40th and Market until further notice.
UPDATE: The scene of the accident was cleared by 2:05 p.m. on Tuesday and all trolleys resumed normal operation.
#BREAKING: A @SEPTA Paratransit bus and an SUV have crashed into a packed trolley in West Philly. At least 31 people are saying they are hurt, SEPTA says. https://t.co/65qHztNL3P
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) February 5, 2019
February 6th, 2019 at 9:40 am
I was there toward the front of the trolley.
The van(not SUV) pulled across chester and hit the paratransit van headed westbound(empty, fortunately). The then entangled vehicles continued across the center line into the trolley. The trolley driver reacted quickly and braked, the felt impact caused me to take a step forward(I was standing).
The van driver was alive with only minor obvious injuries, but likely had a healthy number of more significant hidden ones, i.e. broken bones. She also showed symptoms of a mild concussion. The Kia performed shockingly well in protecting her. She was alone despite some reports.
The paratransit driver had a concussion and was quite confused, she had a significant cut and bruise from her onboard computer and complained of back pain.
The trolley driver wasn’t cut but certainly slid into the bar on his console, I’d expect at least abdominal bruising. He’s the hero of the story.
I wouldn’t expect much other than bruising from other trolley occupants, but it’s possible there were some folks in strange positions that suffered cuts or sprains. Many of us left the trolley completely unhurt and weren’t accounted for.
Looking back at my 911 call and pictures and extrapolating, it appears it took 9ish minutes for police and fire to arrive, and 20 before the first ambulance(the second followed near behind and the third was likely called in later). There might have been more time variance though, I was quite busy initially before I snapped any pictures.
Hopefully this fills in some blanks, the big takeaway was “the van did a thing that tons of people do, but it went bad.”