Lake Shore Drive bus crash View Full Caption

UPTOWN — Nine people were taken to area hospitals after a CTA bus crashed on Lake Shore Drive Friday afternoon.

A CTA spokeswoman said a No. 147 bus was traveling northbound when a vehicle in front of it stopped abruptly. The bus driver swerved to avoid a collision and struck a light pole, said CTA spokeswoman Catherine Hosinksi.

Uptown resident Nicholas Hernandez said he was strolling through the park headed to watch a soccer game on the lakefront when he "heard a big boom," that turned out to be the bus colliding head-on with a pole.



He said the bus doors opened and a few people got off of the bus and started walking away from the scene, "but not many."



An officer at the scene said "it was a full bus," with about 35-40 people in it, but that nobody was seriously injured.

All the injured passengers were in good condition, Chicago Fire Department officials said.

The northbound Montrose ramp was closed as crews investigate the scene.

Five ambulances were dispatched to the scene around 2:30 p.m.