School bus overturns in Queens after crash with taxi

Cell phone use may have played a factor in a Queens’ accident involving a school bus and a taxi that injured eight people.

The accident occurred about 6:30 a.m. Monday morning in the Briarwood neighborhood as the school bus traveled westbound on 87th Ave and the taxi on 150th St. The taxi driver allegedly ran a red light and collided with the side of the school bus, causing it to roll onto its side.

Witnesses tell NY1 that the taxi driver was talking on a cell phone at the time of the crash.

According to the New York Post, five children, a matron and a bus driver were aboard the school bus at the time of the crash. Only the driver was in the taxi.

The children, bus driver and taxi driver suffered minor injuries. However, the matron was pinned and suffered serious injury, having to be cut from the wreckage. Emergency services transported the matron and taxi driver to Jamaica Hospital, the children and bus driver to Long Island Jewish Medical Center.

All of the children on the school bus were special needs students from P.S. 080 Thurgood Marshall Magnet.

Earlier this month, dozens of children were injured when their school bus collided with a minivan in the Hillcrest neighborhood of Queens, reported DNAinfo.com.