A 15-year-old girl was taken to the hospital with a severe left injury after she was hit by an MTA bus in Williamsburg Friday morning, authorities said.
Police say the girl was crossing north on Grand Street around 8:45 a.m. when the bus moving south on Union Avenue made a left turn onto Grand Street and hit her. Her leg was pinned under it, officials said.
The bus, a Q59 operating as a B24, remained at the scene, MTA spokesman Kevin Ortiz said. Ortiz said there were passengers on the bus, but he didn't say how many.
The 58-year-old bus driver was arrested and charged under administrative code 19-190, a city law passed in May 2014 that makes it a criminal misdemeanor to injure or kill pedestrians or cyclists with the right of way. Previously, such offenses mostly fell under traffic violations.
The MTA said in a statement that it's priority is to ensure safety, and that priority is reinforced in every aspects of its operations.
"Bus accidents involving pedestrian and bicyclists are unacceptable," the agency said. "The issues surrounding pedestrian and bicycle safety are dynamic and ever changing, therefore we continuously adapt our accident prevention strategies and have currently implemented the following three‐pronged approach as part of Vision Zero."
