Donicha Daniels said a prayer as the bus slid in the snow.
Terra Burian described what was happening in a panic to her husband via cell phone.
Joshua Skaggs braced for impact.
All three escaped serious injury Monday when the Pierce Transit bus they were on crashed at South 19th Street and Jefferson Avenue, coming to rest on its side a few feet from a science building on the University of Washington Tacoma’s campus.
But all three were shaken and could hardly believe what just happened.
“I thought I was going to die,” Daniels said.
“It was pretty scary,” said Burian.
None of the bus’s 20 or so passengers suffered life-threatening injuries in the 10:40 a.m. crash, officials said. About a dozen were taken to area hospitals, while others were treated at the scene.
But passengers described frightening moments of chaos as the driver apparently lost control as the bus traveled down South 19th in the bad weather. It slid into some concrete benches along Jefferson Avenue and tipped over.
There was screaming and crying, passengers said.
Daniels and Burian, both of Tacoma, were sitting toward the front of the bus and said they slammed into windows as it rolled onto its side. Daniels, 21, worried her arm was broken; Burian, 31, hurt her shoulder and neck.
Skaggs, 31, of Tacoma, was sitting toward the back. At first, it seemed as if things were happening in slow motion, he said. Then everything sped up. He said he crashed through a window and fell out of the bus as it hit the ground.
His back was hurting badly, he said as he told of the wreck while standing under an alcove of the science building a few feet from the mangled vehicle.
Dozens of police, firefighters and transit officials worked to clear the scene. Students and passers-by craned to get a closer look and snapped photos using cell phone cameras.
The bus was traveling on Route 48, which connects downtown Tacoma to the Lakewood Towne Center, said Lars Erickson, Pierce Transit spokesman. It wasn’t using chains, he said.
The weather deteriorated quickly, and at the time of the accident Pierce Transit was moving buses to snow routes and requiring chains on smaller shuttle buses, not the larger buses, Erickson said.
He said Tacoma police were handling the accident investigation and that Pierce Transit also would do its own review.
Burian spoke to reporters about the accident at St. Joseph Medical Center with her husband at her side. She said that despite everything she felt lucky. She was treated at the hospital and released to go home.
“It could have been a lot worse,” she said.
Sara Schilling: 253-552-7058 sara.schilling@thenewstribune.com
JOIN THE DISCUSSION | Register here
We welcome comments. Please keep them civil, short and to the point. ALL CAPS, spam, obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. Thanks for taking part — and abiding by these simple rules. A thorough explanation of rules of conduct can be found in our Terms of Service. If you have any questions, including why your comment may not be showing immediately after you submit it, be sure to visit the commenting FAQ.