An RTD bus crashed into a house on the 4800 block of South Dahlia Street on Saturday — turning a Christmas shopping trip for two teens into a scary adventure.
“We grabbed the front and back of the seat. It happened so fast,” said Nikita Thornton , 14.
Thornton and her friend Jessica Masitti, 15, stood shivering and wrapped in blankets as they recounted the crash.
The two, who were on their way to Cherry Creek mall, were the only passengers on the bus.
The accident happened at 10:41 a.m. after the driver of a gray Mitsubishi Endeavor that was traveling west on Asbury Street crashed into the side of the Regional Transportation District bus traveling north on icy South Dahlia Street.
The impact caused the bus driver to lose control and slam into the house, authorities said.
The unidentified bus driver and the driver of the sport utility vehicle were taken to Denver Health Medical Center. Authorities said nobody was injured.
“That’s all the information we got,” said Denver Fire Assistant Chief Terry Neiman.
Streets surrounding the house were closed to traffic as Denver firefighters from District 3 shut down a broken gas line, removed debris from inside the house and waited for the bus to be towed.
Neighbors said the house belongs to an elderly woman, a nurse who had been sleeping in a basement bedroom when the bus hit. The unidentified woman was not injured and is staying with a neighbor.
Linda Eggleston is the resident of the house, according to public records.
LeRoy DeVries lives in a corner house next door to the house that was hit.
DeVries built a stone barricade on the corner of his property to prevent cars from crashing into his home.
“Thank God for that, but I’m not happy it hit her house,” he said.
Annette Espinoza: 303-954-1655 or aespinoza@denverpost.com
