BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — A megabus overturned while traveling south on Interstate 95 Sunday morning leaving 27 of 47 passengers injured.
According to Baltimore County Fire Department, the bus crashed before 7 a.m. near Kingsville, which is located north of Baltimore. Fire officials say the bus drove rolled off the road on I-95 in and onto its side near Bradshaw and Raphel Roads.
Fire and rescue crews from Baltimore County were sent to the scene around 6:55 a.m. with the assistance of Harford County rescue personnel.
Fifteen of the 27 passengers injured were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening, BCFD says.
Maryland State Police said in a tweet that it is investigating the cause of the incident.
The crash caused major traffic delays in the area.
Dan Rodriguez, a megabus spokesperson, said in an email to WUSA9 that safety is the company's "top priority" for "customers and employees."
Rodriguez said that the driver of the bus was among the 15 passengers taken to the hospital with "minor injuries." He wrote that the other 12 injured passengers refused care.
Many of those hospitalized have already been released and, according to Rodriguez, have been provided with transportation to "their final destination."
"As is customary in these events we are conducting a thorough review of the incident— and are cooperating with all authority and agencies," Rodriguez wrote.
Phil Givens, who lives nearby and took drone footage of the bus on its side, said the crash occurred on the southbound side of the highway. He said that particular stretch of road is straight.
“They’ve been doing construction, but it’s on the northbound side,” he said by phone.
Taylor Morningstar, who works for a local garage that towed the bus away, said by phone that a tire on the passenger side was “most of the way ripped off, probably because of the way (the bus) came down into that ravine.”
“It looked like they may have kicked the windshield out to start funneling (people) out of the bus,” said Morningstar.
He said the bus had a skylight on the roof that was “spiderwebbed” from the impact.