Officials say the accident happened after the on-duty METRO bus driver swerved to avoid an Infiniti SUV that was running a red light. A spokesperson for METRO says the driver of that SUV was headed south on Caroline and was well into the intersection when the bus heading west on Jefferson made a quick call to try to avoid it.
The bus driver wasn't able to dodge the SUV. It struck a power pole and ripped through a chain link fence before smashing into the building. City inspectors came out to assess the damage before they pulled the bus out of the building.
"Our bus, according to witnesses, had the green light," said METRO spokesperson Raequel Roberts. "(The driver) tried to avoid this car, and ended up in the building behind me."
Luckily, there was no one else on the bus and there were no passengers in the Infiniti. Both drivers were taken to Saint Joseph Hospital and are expected to be fine.
"So fortunately it was empty. All in all, there was no one on the bus, which is fortunate," said Robert. "From what we know of the injuries, they were both talking when they left the scene and conscious." Crews spent all night and part of the morning removing the bus. They were being cautious because they didn't want to create more problems with the building.The bus has been removed and the building was shored up around it so it doesn't cave in.
There were some road closures due to the accident. Caroline from San Jacinto to Pease was shut down, and so was Jefferson from Austin to Fannin.