A bus driver was in very serious condition Wednesday after being stabbed while driving in the northern city of Afula, causing him to lose control of the vehicle, police said, adding that the motive for the incident was not yet clear.

Police said that a preliminary investigation found that two youths boarded the bus, and then stabbed the driver.

The bus hit another car, the wall of a store, and ended up smashing into a fire hydrant. Video showed water gushing from the hydrant and flood the street.

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Before he lost consciousness the 62-year-old driver said he had been stabbed in the head by one of the two youths, who had boarded the bus at one of the stops, Hebrew media reported.

Police said the perpetrators fled the scene and they were searching the area, while others combed the site for evidence.

Initially the diver’s condition was given as moderate and he was taken to the city’s Haemek Hospital, but doctors who examined him upgraded his condition to very serious and he was transferred to Haifa’s Rambam Medical Center.

In addition to the driver, two passengers in a smaller vehicle were also being treated for injuries sustained when the bus rammed into their car.