BALTIMORE — An MTA bus crashed near the Northwood Commons Shopping Center on Loch Raven on Wednesday afternoon.
The bus was hit by a vehicle and struck a pole.
WMAR 2 News obtained surveillance video which shows a car speeding down the road next to a bus. In the video, it looks like the driver of the car was trying to turn or get in front of the bus when it struck the side of the bus, causing the bus to crash into the light pole.
Afterwards, MTA Police blocked off several streets to redirect traffic away from the downed light pole.
Dominique, who lives on a street near the crash, says that is when traffic started to get busier.
“It’s a little inconvenient because it’s like this is the only way to go through, but still we used to it," he says.
Morgan Johnson, who was able to make it home through the traffic, says she worries about how long it will take for the road to reopen.
“We have four one-way streets, and it’s already small and tight so it’s like living right here. I’m nervous someone’s gonna hit my car," she says.
She says it's not good for the traffic to be heavy on the narrow streets.
“We have elderly homeowners and stuff in the neighborhood, so hopefully it gets back up and running soon," says Johnson.
"We caught up with Ernestine Mcalester, who was stuck in traffic," she says. She’s just glad she made it to her street.
“Just that little inconvenient is a big inconvenience because you have to back up two or three streets. There’s a back up on Loch Raven; there’s a back up on Argonne Drive. You know the shopping center is right there, and if anybody went to that shopping center, that’s gonna be even worse," says Ernestine Mcalester.
Other people who we spoke with off camera say they deal with crashes a lot on Loch Raven; they say speeding is a major part of the problem.
“Maybe some speed humps or something would be a solution for this area, but it’s always an accident or, you know, some kind of inconvenience right here," says Morgan Johnson.
Dominique also says people should be cautious when driving near MTA buses.
“They need to respect it." "I know they don’t like driving behind buses because they’re slow and they have stopped at all that, but still, the bus is bigger than your vehicle, so it’s either you or the bus, and I just think people have to respect the lanes," says Dominique.
No major injuries have been reported at this time.
The driver and two other people were taken to hospitals.
