6 injured in MARTA bus, train collision in East Point

EAST POINT, Ga. — Five passengers and a driver were injured when a MARTA bus collided with a freight train Wednesday, according to a MARTA spokesperson.

The crash happened in East Point just before 5 p.m.

MARTA confirmed all six people were taken to Atlanta Medical Center for treatment.

Thursday MARTA confirmed that five of them, including the driver, were released from the hospital. A 65-year-old male remained in the hospital after sustaining serious head and neck injuries, MARTA officials said.

They said the bus was crossing the train tracks on Welcome All Road to make a left onto Ben Hill Road. A portion of the bus was still on the tracks and the train crashed into it, according to MARTA officials.

The bus was hit once, spun around and was hit again, MARTA officials said.

A mother whose son was on the bus said he called her minutes after the crash happened.

“When he first called me he said, ‘Mama, I've been in an accident.’ I said, ‘A train hit the bus.’ He said, ‘Yes, mama. It threw us off the bus,’” said Tammie Daniel.

Daniel's son, Ian Durden, 19, was not seriously injured in the crash. She said she thanks God the young father is alive.

"He said he told the bus driver, 'The train is coming, the train is coming,' and it hit them," Daniel said.

Channel 2's Tom Regan sat down with Ian Thursday.

"I looked to my left and saw the train," Durden told Regan.

He says he and another passenger ran to the front to exit the bus, and that's when the train hit.

It sounded like a bomb went off. When the train hit the bus, it kinda like made us fall off the bus, it kinda like slung us off the bus,” Durden said. “Everybody was shaking lying on the ground, screaming, crying.”

Ian injured his ankle and foot as he flew out of the bus. His mom she feared the worst when she went to hospital.

“My son could have been seriously hurt. That's when I started to cry. I didn't know how bad it was,” Daniel said.

MARTA officials said the exact cause of the crash is under investigation.

"All of our buses are equipped with surveillance cameras that record the interior and exterior of the scene,” said MARTA spokesman Lyle Harris.

MARTA officials said it hasn't been determined if their safety protocol was followed. East Point police are investigating to determine who's at fault.

WSBTV