By Steve Strunsky/The Star-Ledger and Justin Zaremba/NJ.com
WAYNE — At least a dozen people were injured early today when a fully-loaded chartered tour bus en route from Toronto to Brooklyn overturned on a Route 80 exit ramp, slid down a concrete abutment and came to rest on its side, State Police said.
None of the injuries was considered life-threatening, State Police said. Passengers said they were heading to a religious event in Brooklyn.
The accident occurred about 7:35 a.m. as the bus, operated by AVM Max 2000 Charter Service Inc. of Toronto and carrying 57 people, was turning off Route 80 onto Route 46, State Police said.
The bus went off the road and down into a ditch, narrowly missing a concrete embankment.
State Police Sgt. Jeff Long said the driver, who suffered a gash to his arm, told authorities he was cut off by another vehicle, which caused the bus to veer off the highway. The driver was not immediately identified.
Several passengers were trapped inside the bus for awhile but rescue crews were able to get them all out.
Long said the soft terrain cushioned the impact of the crash and "protected quite a few of the passengers."
Three of the injured were taken to St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in Paterson. Six others, including two children were taken to Chilton Memorial Hospital in Pompton Plains with minor injuries, a spokeswoman for the hospital said this afternoon, authorities said. Two adults — a male and female were taken to St. Mary’s Hospital in Passaic, where they were treated and released a hospital spokeswoman said.
Many of the passengers said they were asleep when the accident occurred.
"We just felt the impact and that was it," said one woman who was unhurt.
The woman, who did not give her name, said she and her fellow passengers got out through the front window. Others were able to get out through an escape hatch on top of the vehicle, State Police said.
"When you have people trapped like this, it’s a major accident," said one passenger, who identified herself only as Deborah.
"It was terrifying," said Norma Cumberbatch, 66, of Toronto, who was travelling with her 68-year-old sister, Marjorie. "We were driving along and the next thing I know, we’re in a ditch."
Cumberbatch said she struggled to free her legs from fallen luggage and other debris before trying to locate her sister.
"I just took my leg out and then said ‘where’s my sister? I want my sister."
Marjorie Cumberbatch said she heard "thump, thump, thump. Then I looked up and I saw people over me screaming and crying."
nj.com-phone-app-pic3.jpg
Download our
free NJ.com mobile and tablet apps
to keep up with the latest New Jersey news, sports and entertainment.
About an hour after the crash, about two dozen passengers who appeared to be unhurt were standing off to the side of the road as rescue workers continued treating some of the injured. State troopers were on the scene handing out water to many of the victims.
Passengers said the bus had left Toronto at about 8:15 last night and that they were scheduled to attend a Seventh Day Adventist church event in Brooklyn later today.
A man who answered the phone at the bus company said he had spoken to the driver, whom he did not identify, from the hospital but offered no additional details about the crash.
The man, who did not give his name described the driver as having a clean driving record.
At least 40 rescue vehicles from over a dozen towns responded to the accident, including Paterson Fire Department, Lincoln Park EMS, Montville volunteer first aid squad, Cedar Grove ambulance and rescue squad, West Essex first aid squad, Verona rescue squad, Pompton Lakes-Riverdale first aid squad, and several others. State Police cruisers were also on the scene.
Traffic is moving freely in at least three lanes of Route 80 eastbound, though the exit ramp from Route 80 East to Route 46 remains closed.
State Police in Totowa are leading an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Star-Ledger staff writers David Giambusso and Janelle Griffith contributed to this report.
• Two people trapped by overturned bus on Route 80 eastbound in Wayne