A New York-bound tour bus flipped over on Interstate 80 in New Jersey yesterday, injuring 23 people, authorities said.
The bus, which carried 57 people, tumbled sideways down an embankment next to the highway at the Route 46/Route 23 interchange at about 7:40 a.m.
Three women were trapped under seats inside the bus and were taken to area hospitals with critical but non-life-threatening injuries, State Police said.
Five children were aboard, but miraculously, none was injured, police said.
Most of the victims were treated for cuts, bruises and soreness. The driver told authorities he had a gash in his arm.
Several passengers with neck braces were loaded into ambulances, police said.
“If the bus had landed on concrete, it could have been a very serious accident with fatal injuries,” State Police Maj. Robert Cuomo said.
“I just heard a big boom and the bus started going out of control,” said passenger John Anthony, 46, who was headed to Brooklyn to visit family in Flatbush. “People started flying. It was a scary moment.”
The bus driver, Neville Larmond, 51, of Ontario, was being tested for alcohol, but no criminality was suspected, police said.