Bus-Car Collision Hurts 2, Strews Damage

SUN VALLEY —  Two people suffered minor injuries early Sunday when an out-of-service MTA bus collided with a car, a fire hydrant, a power pole, a wrought-iron fence and, finally, seven cars in a used-car lot, authorities said.

“I never thought in a million years that a bus could do something like that,” said Mohammad Elkadi, the owner of Best Quality Auto Sales. “Maybe an army tank, but not a bus.”

Bus driver Prabhjot Singh, 34, of North Hollywood was traveling north on Glenoaks Boulevard when the bus hit a Cadillac being driven west on Sheldon Street by Vince Uzelac, 34, of Beverly Hills, said Officer Brian McClary, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department’s Valley Traffic Division.

The force of the impact caused the bus to veer off, shearing off a fire hydrant that sent water gushing onto the roadway and snapping a power pole that knocked out traffic signals and left the mostly industrial area without power, McClary said. The bus also crashed through a fence surrounding the car lot, damaging seven cars.

Both men complained of minor injuries and were taken to Pacifica Hospital.

Department of Water and Power crews repaired the damaged power pole and hydrant, McClary said. Department of Transportation crews directed traffic until electricity to the traffic signal was restored, he said.

Late Sunday, Valley Traffic Division investigators were trying to determine which driver may have run a red light, McClary said.