Baltimore Bus Crash Leaves 6 Dead: Police

BALTIMORE, MD — Six people died Tuesday morning when a school bus and an MTA bus collided in southwest Baltimore City, according to police.

Five of the deceased were on the MTA bus, and the school bus driver was also killed, Baltimore Police Chief of Media Relations T.J. Smith said.

A 33-year-old woman driving the MTA bus, 67-year-old man driving the school bus, 51-year-old man, 46-year-old woman, 51-year-old woman and an unidentified man believed to be about 32 years old were dead at the scene, Smith said.

Their identifies are not yet being released as officials are still in the process of notifying next of kin, Smith said at a Tuesday afternoon media briefing.

"We have a mass casualty incident involving multiple fatalities," Smith said. "It is a pretty horrific scene."

There were no children aboard the school bus at the time of the crash, which occurred in the 3800 block of Frederick Avenue around 7 a.m., Baltimore Police said.

According to Smith, the only other person on the school bus besides the driver was an aide, who was taken to the hospital.

A total of 10 people were hospitalized after the crash: eight were on the MTA bus, one was the school bus aide and another was in a Mustang that was also hit by the school bus, he reported. Their injuries ranged from minor to critical.

Emergency personnel said they were still working to cut their way through the MTA bus to search for additional passengers after 9:30 a.m.

"We can't speculate on the cause of the crash at this point," Smith said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that the school bus was eastbound on Frederick Avenue when it hit a Mustang, struck a pillar at Loudon Park Cemetery and continued eastbound, where it traveled into oncoming traffic and hit the driver's side of an MTA bus, according to police.

"It literally looks like a bomb exploded in the bus," Smith said.

People riding a bus that early in the morning "are working folks," Baltimore Police Commissioner Kevin Davis said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to them, to their families, to their coworkers..."

The school bus was contracted by Baltimore City Public Schools, according to WBAL. While Smith did not confirm the affiliation of the bus, he said that it was on its way to pick up a young person four to five blocks away from the crash site.

Due to the investigation, Frederick Avenue was closed from South Loudon Avenue to South Hilton Street for an extended period of time, Baltimore emergency management officials said.

After 6:30 p.m., Baltimore Police reported the 3800 block of Frederick Avenue had reopened to traffic.