An 83-year-old restaurant owner in Queens was struck and killed by a school bus Wednesday morning right in front of his home as he was crossing a street with his wife, police and witnesses said.
The man, identified by police as as Bing Nuan Chen, was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after the accident at 67th Drive and 73rd Place in Middle Village about 8:30 a.m.
The distraught bus driver for First Steps Transportation Inc. remained at the scene, witness Mike Liendo told The Post.
The preliminary investigation determined that the 2014 bus was traveling south on 73rd Place when it made a left onto 67th Drive and struck the man as he crossed south to north at the corner on 67th Drive, police said.
There were no children aboard at the time of the accident. No arrests have been made as the accident remains under investigation.
“As she was making the turn, the old man was pulled under the rear driver’s side wheel,” Liendo, 46, a former sanitation driver who lives nearby, said about the 56-year-old driver.
“When they put him in the ambulance the daughter showed up and started screaming,” he added. “She shouted, ‘Oh, God! Oh, God!”
A nurse who was driving to work when she saw the horrifying accident said the bus did not appear to be traveling fast.
“She just didn’t see him,” said the nurse, who gave just her first name, Katherine. “She hit him and he rolled under the bus. I called 911. It was too terrible.”
Witnesses said the couple owns a Chinese restaurant a few blocks away.
People at the scene of the accident.Brigitte StelzerA man who rushed out of the couple’s building said “that was my dad” before driving off.
Liendo complained about the lack of stop signs and speed bumps in the neighborhood.
Another resident, Anthony Russo, 50, also said the area is notorious for speeding vehicles.
“They come flying down here with no stop signs,” he said. “More people are going to die.”
A manager for First Steps Transportation said the company was still gathering information about the accident.
“Our prayers go out to the family,” the manager, who identified herself as Deena, told The Post.
