Four Hurt After CTA Bus Crashes into House on Far South Side

Neighbors in the Morgan Park area where a CTA bus plowed into the side of a home Tuesday morning said buses frequently take the turn near the house too fast and while this was the first time bus has struck the home, there have been two other instances in the past year alone when autos have hit the building.

Four people -- including the bus driver -- were sent to hospitals Tuesday morning after the southbound Pullman/111th/115th bus struck the home at 115th Street and South Vincennes Avenue.

The incident happened at 5:40 a.m., according to Chicago Transit Authority spokeswoman Kim Myles.

Police News Affairs Officer Robert Perez said the wreck occurred at 11465 S. Vincennes Ave. and four people were injured.

A shaken Lasharon Smith, who was in the home when the bus struck, said those inside were "fine" but declined to give further details of the incident.

"We're fine," Smith said. "That's all I want to say. Thank God, we're fine. We're in shock."

Two people were taken to MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island and two were taken to Roseland Community Hospital, all in "stable condition," according to Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford, who said the injuries suffered were minor.

Langford said the driver and at least one passenger were among the four victims but could not confirm whether the other victims were from the house.

The bus driver was taken to MetroSouth and three passengers were taken to Roseland Hospital, according to Perez who said an inspector for the city's Department of Buildings will be sent to the scene.

Neighbors said Smith, who rents the home from the Apostolic Pentacostal Church of Morgan Park, lives there with her four sons. Neighbors did not believe the sons were home at the time of the crash.

The bus made a "clean entry into the side of the house and was several feet in," Langford said. Crews at the scene and had turned off the gas and electricity to the house. The bus was removed from the home about 8 a.m.

Once the bus was removed, it left a gaping hole in the side of the house, through which passersby could see a bathroom mirror, a bedroom with mattresses stacked upon each other and a small waterfall caused by a burst pipe.

When asked if the bus driver would be cited or tested for drugs and alcohol, Myles said the CTA was "investigating the incident."

Myles also said it was under investigation how the crash happened.

Neighbors at the scene Tuesday morning said buses frequently take the turn southbound on Vincennes onto 115th Street too fast. "Every time the buses take the left turn they speed," Lashone Clark said. "They go fast around that corner."

Neighbors also said that this was the third time in about a year that the home has been struck by a vehicle. This was the first time it has been struck by a bus, though.