Phoenix, Arizona: Child and Teen Among Four Critically Hurt in Bus Stop Crash on Baseline Road

Four people, including a child and a teenager, were in critical condition on Wednesday after a Jeep crashed into a bus stop at 46th Street and Baseline Road in south Phoenix, the Phoenix Fire Department said. FOX 10 Phoenix reported the crash happened at about 8:15 a.m. on October 28, and AZFamily reported that Phoenix officers and firefighters were called to the wreck shortly after 8 a.m. and found a Jeep Patriot crashed into the bus stop.

The fire department said six people were evaluated at the scene and five were taken to hospitals. Two adults, a child and a teenager were hospitalized in critical condition, and the two younger patients were taken to a pediatric trauma center, according to the fire department account carried by 12 News. A man was hospitalized in stable condition, and another adult who was involved in the crash refused transport to a hospital, FOX 10 Phoenix reported. One person was trapped in the wreckage and had to be freed by ladder crews, Phoenix Fire Captain Mike Johnson II said.

Police told 12 News that a white Jeep traveling westbound on Baseline Road collided with a Buick that was pulling out of a nearby apartment complex, and that the impact sent the Jeep over the curb and into the bus stop, where people were waiting. Police said speed was a factor in the crash, that impairment is not currently suspected, and that both drivers will be tested as part of the investigation, 12 News reported. FOX 10 Phoenix reported that the Phoenix Police Department will investigate the cause of the crash.

No names or exact ages of the people who were hurt had been released in the reports reviewed on Wednesday, and police had not announced any charges. The reports did not name the hospitals where the patients were taken, and no extended road closure at the intersection was reported. The investigation is continuing, and the conditions of the four critical patients had not been updated in the reports reviewed.

The crash closed out a morning commute on one of the main east and west routes through south Phoenix, at an intersection where riders wait at the curb for buses on Baseline Road. What caused the Buick and the Jeep to collide, and how fast the Jeep was traveling when it left the road, are questions the police investigation is expected to answer.