Driver flees after car, school bus collide in Southwest Philadelphia
SOUTHWEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Police are looking for the driver who fled the scene after a car slammed into a school bus in Southwest Philadelphia on Wednesday.
The crash happened around 7 a.m. at 56th Street and Lindbergh Boulevard.
The bus driver said she pulled out of 56th Street and was waiting for traffic to clear when she saw a speeding car heading straight for the bus.
The car tried to swerve at the last moment but hit the rear of the bus, becoming wedged underneath it.
Police say the driver of the car managed to extract himself from the mangled wreck and crawl out of the passenger side door.
He then ran off down Elmwood Avenue.
There were four children on the bus, two 7 year olds, an 11 year old and a 13 year old.
They and the driver were shaken up but uninjured.
As a precaution the children were taken to the hospital for observation and then sent home.
They had been on their way to the Harambee Institute Charter School in West Philadelphia.
School administrator, Naimah Holmes, says they worry about bus safety all the time and are just glad the children are okay.
Police say the car is registered to an address in Sharon Hill. It had not been reported stolen.
Police say they've identified several people associated with the car and are questioning them.
Witnesses say the driver was a black man in his early 20's about 6 feet tall with a full beard, wearing a dark shirt and dark shorts.
The car has been taken to a police lot where it will be searched and dusted for fingerprints.
Police say given the condition of the car, the driver must have been injured. At this point, they don't know why he would run off, but he is facing serious felony charges when they find him.
