Dozens injured as buses and cars collide during peak hour: 'Panic and fear'
Two women have been seriously injured and more than 12, including a child, were hospitalised after a major crash in Sydney's southwest on Wednesday.
A Sydney bus driver and a woman are fighting for life and a dozen more have been hospitalised after a major crash in the city's southwest on Wednesday afternoon involving multiple vehicles during the peak afternoon rush.
Two buses and three cars were involved in the collision at Campsie at 4.20pm, with the driver of the first bus, a woman aged 63, suffering serious spinal injures. It took firefighters an hour to free her from the badly wrecked front of the vehicle, with vision showing it completely smashed up during the ordeal. Responders were forced to pry open the shattered windscreen to extricate her.
The driver is now being treated at St George Hospital in Kogarah. One of her passengers, a woman aged in her 50s, was also critically injured during the collision and suffered serious spinal injures. She remains under care in hospital.
A dozen injured, including child
The second bus driver, a man aged 63, sustained minor injuries and was taken to Concord Hospital in a stable condition. NSW Police say one bus collided into the rear of the other, which then caused it to crash into three parked cars, but at this stage it remains unclear what caused the incident.
A total of 25 passengers were treated at the scene by paramedics and 12 — including a child — were transported to hospitals across the city, including Bankstown, Concord and Royal Prince Alfred. Their conditions are all stable.
'A lot of panic and fear', ambulance inspector says
There were almost 20 ambulances on the scene and dozens of paramedics— a significant number, according to NSW Ambulance Acting Inspector Andrew Bibby. "There was a lot of panic and a lot of fear when we arrived... the collision was, quite impactful," he told Seven News.
"NSW Ambulance responded 25 resources to the scene which is a very significant number of resources."
NSW Ambulance said there was no evidence of a medical episode but it was not being ruled out. Meanwhile police investigations continue, with anyone in the possession of dashcam footage urged to come forward or contact Crime Stoppers.
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