At least 12 people were injured early Wednesday morning in a multi-bus collision outside the Port Authority Bus Terminal in midtown Manhattan, causing major disruptions during New York City’s busy commute hours.
The crash occurred around 6 a.m. near West 41st Street, when one bus rear-ended another, according to FDNY officials. The impact triggered a pile-up that brought traffic to a standstill and forced emergency responders to extricate at least one trapped driver.
“It required some extrication — they had to use equipment to free the patient,” said FDNY Deputy Chief Jason Saffon. The driver sustained moderate injuries and is expected to recover. Ten other individuals were treated for minor injuries and transported to nearby hospitals. One person declined medical attention at the scene.
Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash, with sources suggesting that a medical emergency involving one of the drivers may have contributed to the accident.
New Jersey Transit confirmed that the incident led to the closure of the Port Authority terminal and forced bus services to be rerouted to Secaucus Junction, Newark Penn Station, and Hoboken Terminal. “All trains will stop at Secaucus,” NJ Transit announced on X (formerly Twitter).
Emergency crews initially faced delays reaching the scene due to blocked ramps. “We had difficulty getting up the ramp because it was backed up,” Saffon said. “We coordinated with Port Authority Police to go the wrong way up the exit ramp to get ambulances in.”
Footage from the Citizen app showed multiple emergency vehicles surrounding the terminal. Commuters reported delays and confusion as responders worked at the scene well past 8 a.m.
One witness told WCBS, “We were stuck in the tunnel for about 15 minutes. There were fire trucks everywhere, a bunch of cops. It was chaotic.”
The Port Authority Bus Terminal, a major transportation hub for travelers from New Jersey, the Lower Hudson Valley, and beyond, serves roughly 26,000 commuters during peak hours. It also operates long-distance bus services to cities like Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, and destinations across Canada.
This crash mirrors a similar incident in 2020, when two buses collided on a Port Authority ramp, injuring 16 people.
