Updated: Pedestrians injured after PRTC commuter bus slams into Arlington apartment building

From an email written by PRTC Interim Executive Director Eric Marx: 

I’m writing to inform you that one of our OmniRide commuter buses was involved in an accident within the last half hour or so. Details are few and sketchy – all we know at this time is that bus number 355 appears to have struck the Lennox apartment building in Crystal City, that the operator has been transported to the hospital, that there were no passengers onboard, and that there appear to have been additional injuries.

Update 8 p.m. from a PRTC spokeswoman: 

It was a strategic bus, not in service. It actually wasn’t on a route at the time.  Two pedestrians injured, plus driver

Update From PRTC: 

A PRTC OmniRide bus was involved in an accident at approximately 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 29 in Arlington, resulting in three people – the bus operator and two people outside the bus – being transported to the hospital. The bus was carrying no passengers at the time.

The accident is still under investigation, but it appears the bus struck a vehicle on South 12th Street in Arlington. It’s unclear at this time if the vehicle struck by the bus was parked. After the collision, the bus ran onto the curb and struck the wall of a business on the first floor of the Lenox Club apartment building in Pentagon City.

One pedestrian on the sidewalk and one person in the business appear to have non-life-threatening injuries. The operator also was injured; his condition remains unknown.

The bus, a 2006 MCI, was towed from the scene and impounded by Arlington County Police. The bus was not carrying passengers because it was stationed in the area to be put into service only if necessary.

PRTC and its contractor, First Transit Inc., are cooperating fully with the Arlington County Police investigation. 

In addition to the investigation by Arlington authorities, PRTC and First Transit also will perform a review to determine what happened and if the crash was preventable. The internal investigation will include interviewing witnesses, reviewing video of the incident, checking the vehicle and reviewing the bus operator’s driving history.