Nearly a dozen people, most of them children, were fortunate to escape with only minor injuries when a huge piece of a tree crushed their small school bus in Queens Monday, according to officials and video from the scene.
All of the victims -- eight kids, three adults -- were expected to be OK following the accident at Woodhaven Boulevard and 66th Road shortly before 8 a.m. The nature of their injuries wasn't immediately clear, but officials said all were minor. After conflicting initial reports, authorities confirmed they were all transported to Elmhurst Hospital as a precaution.
Footage from the scene shows the right side of the bus -- and the windshield -- completely crushed, with the door appearing to be barely attached. It appeared the children had to be escorted off the bus through the emergency exit in the back, though most seemed to be exiting with smiles on their faces. A huge tree limb -- or section of a tree -- was spotted on the sidewalk.
Authorities have not confirmed the accident was related to the weather, but it came as a severe storm with gusty winds that had punished the tri-state for the last 24 hours slowly began to move away. Around the time of the accident, wind gusts of 40 mph were recorded at LaGuardia Airport.
The storm has dumped a widespread 2 to 3 inches of rain on the tri-state since Sunday. Central Park saw more than 3 inches of rain, as did Islip and Carmel. Nearly 4.5 inches were recorded at Danbury Airport in Connecticut. Some public school systems had to delay opening or, in the case of the Westport Public Schools in Connecticut, cancel classes entirely because of safety concerns.
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Blustery wind gusts in Queens knocked over a massive tree Monday morning – sending it crashing onto the top of a school bus that was carrying eight special-needs students, police said.
The yellow bus was headed down Woodhaven Blvd. near 67th Ave. in Rego Park at about 8 a.m. when the tree hit its roof, collapsing the frame, damaging the door and shattering part of the windshield.
All that remained of the 18-foot tree was its stump.
