25 injured after bus collides with SUV, crashes into Miami building

Driver of SUV arrested on outstanding warrant

MIAMI – Twenty-five people were taken to a hospital early Thursday morning after a bus collided with a sport utility vehicle and then crashed into a Miami building. 

The vehicles collided about 6:30 a.m. at Northwest 36th Street and Northwest 15th Avenue.

"It was horrifying," bus passenger Charles Canoe, 43, told Local 10 News. "I thought I was going to die."

The impact sent the bus into a business called the South Florida Everything Warehouse.

Local 10 News reporter Ben Kennedy said 24 people on the bus were hurt.

"The driver, even though he was somewhat dazed and confused, he was somewhat trapped in there by the iron bars that are on the front of the warehouse, so fire crews had to use some tools to free him," Miami Department of Fire-Rescue Capt. Ignatius Carroll said.

The driver of the SUV, identified as Natasnus Registe, 34, was arrested on an unrelated outstanding warrant for not having a valid driver's license. His 14-year-old daughter, who was a passenger in the SUV, was among those taken to the hospital. 

A Jackson Memorial Hospital spokeswoman said 13 patients were listed in good condition, while two were listed in critical condition.

Meanwhile, a man who had just been shot while driving a white Toyota Camry in the area of Northwest 17th Avenue and 36th Street flagged down one of the officers at the scene.

The man told police someone had shot at his car while he was leaving a home nearby. Some of the car's windows could be seen smashed out from the bullets, while bullet holes were seen in the front windshield and back window.

The victim was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Unit. His condition has not been released.

Police said they are still investigating the circumstances leading up to the shooting.

Follow Ben Kennedy on Twitter @BenKennedyTV

Follow Local 10 News on Twitter @WPLGLocal10


About the Authors:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.