Nassau County Bus Crashes Into Parked Cars

BELLMORE, NY — The scene looks like a war zone or a movie set. A Nassau County (NICE) bus collided with several parked cars on Merrick Road just before 5 p.m. on Thursday.

Police said there were no serious injuries from the crash.

Another NICE bus took passengers from the damaged vehicle.

Isabella Derlly, an employee at Cryotherapy Floating Center across the street from the incident, heard the crash from the back of the office.

"For a minute, I thought something would come through the window," Derlly told Patch. "I was very scared."

Ultimately she, and many others, ventured outside to see the commotion. Multiple police vehicles and ambulances closed off that portion of Merrick Road at Bellmore Avenue.

One of the cars that was totaled belonged to Christine Valentino from Bellmore. The impact from the bus completely reversed the car's position on the curb.

"I think that when he hit my car, the front of the car hit the light [post] and turned. He turned my car around," Valentino said.

She was still wearing a smock from the adjacent hair salon and knew there was a bad accident from the horrific sound.

Dylan Muccini was a witness to the bus' destruction. He was driving up the block and noticed the bus alongside, just seconds before the collision.

"I see this guy hitting the sidewalk, completely ripping everything apart," Muccini, of Merrick, told Patch.

Muccini's car, a rental, was not damaged.

One of the light posts that lines Merrick Road was flattened on the street next to Valentino's car.

"I thought that was going to hit my car and take me out," he said. "I thought that was going to be the end of me."

A spokesperson for NICE would not discuss the accident while they are still investigating. However, witnesses say the driver's brake failed, causing him to plow into parked cars.

"This was basically a barrier to help him stop," Muccini said.

He also saw sparks coming from the bottom of the bus and thought it would go up in flames.

"This is a feeling like no other," he said. "I don't know if I'm going to sleep tonight."