6 injured in Metro bus collision

We've talked about plenty of incidents in which Metro buses ran into stuff — but Thursday, a bus was on the receiving end of a crash, sending six people to the hospital. It happened at Chartres and Franklin downtown around 1 p.m.; the bus was eastbound on Franklin when a dump truck northbound on Chartres reportedly ran a red light, broadsiding the bus. The impact sent the bus crashing into a car that was westbound on Franklin, then through a chain link fence, across a parking lot and through another fence. The bus hit a trailer, two pickups and a car parked in the lot before it stopped in a nearby driveway. Michael Taylor was in an artists' studio building that the bus almost hit; he described the impact for KTRK:

"We were in shock because we were just sitting there painting and all of a sudden we heard a boom and we don't know what it is," said eyewitness Michael Taylor. "We run outside and we see the METRO bus and that half of the vehicles in the parking were hit, the fence torn down and we see a lot of people in shock and panic mode."

Andrew Spenella, another witness, had just opened the garage door of his building to let his dogs out when the bus came hurtling toward him. "When you open the garage door and you have a bus coming at you, it's a little unnerving," he told Channel 13. We imagine that's true.

Nine people were on board the bus, KHOU reports; five passengers and the driver were taken to Ben Taub and were reportedly in stable condition last night. The driver of the dump truck was cited for running the red light and driving with an expired license; he also received several citations from state truck inspectors, according to the Chronicle.