30 Riders Onboard Bus That Suffered Harlem Building Collapse

Thirty people were onboard the BX15 bus yesterday when metal scaffolding and portions of a building's facade collapsed on it as it was pulling up to a stop at West 125th Street and Frederick Douglass Boulevard. While 17 were hurt, including two police officers, all of the injuries were non-life threatening. "It sounded like the screws were coming loose," a witness who was waiting for the bus told the Post. "Then there was smoke and dust, and the next thing you know, it just came crashing down on the bus. It was awful, it looked like 9/11."

A passenger on the bus who was six months pregnant was jostled by fleeing riders began having contractions and was rushed to St. Luke's. "It was terrifying. Right now, I'm OK, but I'm scared for my baby." A construction worker who was working on the building site jumped with the debris as it fell, and broke his left leg and hip. "I was watching him surf down the scaffolding," a colleague said, "He jumped. He didn't have a choice. If he stayed there, he'd be dead."

The company working at the site, DiSano Demolition, had all the necessary permits and refused to comment. But the Buildings Department issued a stop-work order ("UNSAFE DEMO,WORK DOES NOT CONFORM TO PLANS & SEQUENCE, WALL COLLAPSE ON TOP OF SWS. STOP ALL WORK. JOB UNDER SWO PROGRAM"), and Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway noted that the Housing Department would be "doing a complete forensic investigation."