Bus Crashes Into Zeleni Venac Building, Five Hurt

A line 53 bus lost control early Saturday, September 19, at around 4:28 a.m., in Zeleni Venac in downtown Belgrade. The vehicle hit two taxis, crossed into the opposite lane and slammed into a building next to the stop of the same name. Five people were injured, all with minor injuries.

The bus belonged to GSP, Belgrade’s public transport company, and was headed toward Novi Beograd when the driver, for reasons still unknown, lost control of the vehicle. According to Informer, the bus cut across four traffic lanes before coming to a stop.

How the Crash Unfolded

The bus first hit two taxis, then crashed into a building right next to the Zeleni Venac stop. Telegraf reports that one of the buildings on the Zelenjak block was struck. Along with the taxis, a motorcycle is also listed among the damaged vehicles.

Based on what has been reported so far, the following were damaged:

• two taxis
• a motorcycle, according to Telegraf
• additional passenger vehicles belonging to people involved in the crash

What Exactly Was Hit?

Here the outlets disagree. Kurir’s headline says the bus hit a building housing a pharmacy, but the same article’s text says the opposite: the vehicle actually missed the pharmacy and the fence around a nearby underpass. Nova, in its headline, refers to a storefront, while its own text mentions only a building near the stop.

Kurir adds that the driver, besides the building itself, also narrowly missed the entrance to the pedestrian underpass right next to the crash site. Had the bus swerved just a few meters further, the crash would have reached that stretch as well, which pedestrians use to cross toward the stop.

Based on the available sources, it is impossible to say with certainty exactly which building was hit. What is clear is that the bus came to rest against a facade immediately next to the Zeleni Venac stop, on the side heading toward Novi Beograd.

What Emergency Services Say

The City Institute for Emergency Medical Care described the circumstances of the crash in a statement carried by Tanjug.

Five people were slightly injured when a bus on line 53 lost control in Zeleni Venac and hit two taxis.

There has been no official statement yet from the Interior Ministry (MUP) on the injuries or the cause of the crash, leaving the Emergency Medical Care statement as the only official source on the number of people hurt.

Who Was Injured

The injured are a 53 year old man and four women in their twenties. All were first treated at the scene, then taken to the Emergency Center. None of the injuries reported so far are more serious than minor.

The Investigation So Far

Police were sent to the scene and are gathering statements from witnesses and those involved in the crash. There has been no official statement yet from the Interior Ministry on the cause of the crash, and the investigation into why the driver lost control of the bus is ongoing.

GSP Beograd, the company that operates line 53, has not issued an official statement on the crash so far.

Photos and video from the scene, showing badly damaged vehicles and the bus resting against the building’s facade, were posted on the Instagram account 192 and picked up by other outlets. Zeleni Venac is one of Belgrade’s busiest public transport stops, used each morning by a large number of lines heading toward the city center and Novi Beograd.

For now, the Emergency Medical Care statement and the footage posted online by eyewitnesses remain the only sources of information on the number of people injured and how the crash unfolded.