By MAURA GRUNLUND,

MIRA WASSEF and EDDIE D'ANNA

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- A special needs van was involved in a multiple-car crash in West Brighton Thursday morning, according to a police source.

The incident occurred at Broadway and Castleton Avenue.

According to an FDNY spokesman, 11 people suffered minor injuries at that location at 11:40 a.m.

The people in the van were clients and staff from Lifestyles for the Disabled, according to Scott Salinardi, director of programs.

Some of the victims were taken to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, the FDNY spokesman said.

According to a source with knowledge of the incident, nine young adults with autism who were passengers in the Lifestyles van were taken to the hospital and are in stable condition. They are expected to be released shortly.

Extra Lifestyles staff members are at the hospital assisting the people who were in the van and relatives of the injured are being notified, Salinardi said. He was unable to say how many people were injured or provide details about the accident.

The van accident happened just minutes before a car slammed into a crowd of people in Manhattan, killing one and hurting 20 -- and a false report on social media prompted widespread fear that the two incidents were related, both included pedestrians and that there was a fatality on Staten Island as well.

Neither FDNY or the NYPD received any reports about a traffic-related fatality on the borough on Thursday.

And by 1 p.m., the scene at Broadway and Castleton was completely clear.

Some public officials took to social media in an attempt to ease fears as the rampant speculation spread.