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by DOUG AUER
A car was crumpled and two young men were trapped inside after it collided last night with an Atlantic Express bus without passengers on Brielle Avenue at the intersection of Roanoke Avenue in Meiers Corners.
The two occupants of the four-door, gray 2003 Dodge Neon -- who police said were not likely to die -- were extricated from the wreckage by emergency workers and rushed to Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze. The bus driver was not injured.
A hospital worker said last night the occupants of the Dodge -- whom she identified by their last names as Williams and Polishchuk -- were in stable condition.
According to public records, the car is registered to a Roza Polishchuk of Diaz Place in New Dorp.
Rescue Co. 5 used the Hurst power tool to shear off the roof and extricate "two young men," said FDNY Chief Robert Miuccio of Battalion 22.
Adam Yanofsky, an EMT with Hatzoloh Volunteer Ambulance, said his unit was first on the scene. It is based on Rupert Avenue, a block from the accident.
Some of the volunteer EMTs climbed into the smashed car, covered the pinned pair with blankets and helmets and tried to knock out the windows in an attempt to free the victims, said Yanofsky.
"We called EMS and Fire," he said.
FDNY took the driver of the car to the hospital and Hatzoloh Volunteer Ambulance took the passenger.
The car was a contorted mass of twisted metal -- the only portion of the vehicle not destroyed was its rear bumper, although it was slightly bowed. The rear axle rested on top of a toppled fire hydrant, apparently knocked over by the force of the spinning car.
The bus showed significant scrapes, scratches and dents on its front bumper, but no major damage was inflicted.
ACCOUNTS DIFFER
Accounts of what happened differed and police from the Mid-Island's 122nd Precinct said the investigation was ongoing.
Based on the bus driver's version, a little before 6:30 p.m., the X24 Hylan/Tysens Atlantic Express vehicle was headed in the direction of Susan Wagner High School via Brielle, according to Charlie DePrimo, operations manager for the Elm Park-based Atlantic Express Coachways.
He identified the bus driver as 41-year-old Randy Britt, who's been with the company for a year. Done for the day and his bus empty of passengers, Britt was returning to the North Street garage in Port Richmond, DePrimo said.
The Dodge, driving in front of the bus, first slowed as though to turn left on Walcott Avenue, then resumed going straight, DePrimo said. It pulled over to the curb a little farther along the road, he said, allowing the bus to get past. Suddenly, the car zipped along the right side of the bus and made a quick left in front of the bus, in order to turn on Roanoke, said DePrimo.
"He hit the right side of the bus, spun, then hit the left side, then hit the fence" and part of the foundation located at 287 Brielle, DePrimo told the Advance.
Britt was given an on-scene drug and alcohol test by bus company officials, which he passed, they told him.
In a different version of events, offered by neighbors and responding EMTs, the Dodge was headed toward Sea View Hospital Rehabilitation Center and Home. The Atlantic Express bus was going toward Susan Wagner when it tried to go around a stopped MTA bus dropping off passengers at a bus stop across from Roanoke.
As the Atlantic Express bus passed the MTA bus, it met with the Dodge, which was turning right on Roanoke, resulting in the collision, according to this account.
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