MTA Bus Crushes Car in Baltimore, Trapping Victim in Complex Rescue

A car lay destroyed and lodged beneath an MTA bus early Thursday morning at the intersection of East Preston Street and St. Paul Street in Mid-Town Belvedere, setting off a rescue operation that required firefighters to use bricks to stabilize the bus before they could free a victim trapped between the vehicle and a downed light pole.

Baltimore City Fire Department received the 911 call just before 1:15 a.m. on March 19, reporting a crash involving two cars and an MTA bus in the 100 block of East Preston Street. When crews arrived, the bus was partially on top of one of the cars, with shattered glass and debris spread across the intersection. A light pole had been knocked down, and downed traffic lights would keep utility repair crews on scene well into the morning.

The rescue required the Fire Department's Special Operations Command Team to conduct what officials described as a complex extrication from one of the vehicles. Firefighters and police expanded the perimeter around the crash site multiple times during the process. According to a resident who heard the collision and came outside, it took roughly an hour for responders to move the bus off the vehicle. The Shock Trauma GO Team, including trauma physicians and specialists, also responded to the scene to assist with the most seriously injured.

In all, eight people were transported to area hospitals. The Fire Department reported injuries ranging from very serious to minor. The ages of the victims were not released.

A resident who witnessed the aftermath said she believed the MTA bus had been traveling southbound on St. Paul Street while the car was heading westbound on East Preston when they collided, pushing the car into the light pole before the bus came to rest on top of it. That account has not been confirmed by an official investigation.

The area around East Preston Street and St. Paul Street remained closed as utility crews worked to repair the downed traffic lights. No cause for the crash has been released, and the Maryland Transit Administration had not issued a public statement as of early Thursday. Officials urged residents to avoid Preston Street while emergency work continued.