MTA Bus Strikes Building & Two Fatal Crashes Over Weekend

BED-STUY – Last Friday, an MTA bus crashed into a residential building in Bed-Stuy as the driver was turning to avoid construction at Ralph Avenue and St. Marks. The crash took place around 10:15 am.

The B54 bus was empty at the time of the collision, but police reported that six people were injured in the crash. The driver was rushed to Kings County Hospital with reported trauma, while residents and those near the crash were treated for minor injuries.

The second floor of the building was ordered evacuated by Department of Buildings engineers following the collision, though the structure wasn’t compromised.

ABC7 News was on scene with video of the aftermath:

While no one was killed when the bus crashed on Friday, two tragic car accidents in Brooklyn over the weekend proved fatal.

BROWNSVILLE – On Saturday, a motorcycle rider killed after he was struck by a car making a U-turn at Mother Gaston Boulevard and Belmont Avenue, police confirmed.

Around 4:15 pm on Saturday, September 22, 47-year old Julius Holloway was driving a Suzuki motorcycle northbound on Mother Gaston when he was struck by Nissan as the driver made a southbound-to-northbound U-turn at the intersection, police said.

Holloway suffered severe trauma in the crash, and EMS rushed him to Brookdale Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The 29-year old driver of the Nissan and her four passengers were treated for minor injuries, police said.

Julius Holloway lived nearby, on Thatford Avenue. He had reportedly just purchased the motorcycle days before.

“He had a passion for bikes, he always rode bikes ever since he was young. I’m just so devastated that what he had a passion for is what ended his life,” Holloway’s ex-wife, Sharnseearay Goddard, told CBS New York. “He’s a very good man, very responsible driver. He wasn’t a reckless driver or anything like that.”

On Sunday, hundreds turned out for a vigil in remembrance of Holloway.

While the NYPD Collision Investigation Squad is continuing their investigation, at this point, the driver of the Nissan has not been arrested or ticketed.

BAY RIDGE – Also, a man is dead after suffering a medical episode and crashing his car near the Fort Hamilton Triangle in Bay Ridge on Sunday.

While details are not clear on the exact cause of death, police said Ronald Shammas, 61, was driving his Nissan Rogue eastbound on 92nd Street on Sunday, September 23, around 12:45 am, when he suffered a medical episode as he turned onto 5th Avenue.

Shammas lost control of the vehicle, sideswiping another car, then crashing into a traffic light pole at 5th and 9th Street, police said. EMS rushed Shammas, who lived in Bay Ridge, to Lutheran Hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.

There were no other injuries in the crash, police said.

Earlier this month, another driver suffered a fatal heart attack behind the wheel in Canarsie, and another occurred in Bed-Stuy the month before.