"I Thought We Were Going To Die" - NRTA Wave Bus Crashes Off Madaket Road

One of the Nantucket Regional Transit Authority’s WAVE buses veered off Madaket Road and into the brush just past Long Pond on Friday, sending one person to the hospital and snarling traffic for more than an hour.

Only the driver and one passenger were aboard the bus when it went off the road. The passenger, Pelin Bolcan, was transported to the hospital and suffered bruises in the crash, but was later released Friday afternoon. Bolcan, who was taking the bus home from town, recounted the ordeal to the Current over the weekend.

"I was the only passenger and the driver seemed to be driving fast," Bolcan said. "We were almost at my stop in Madaket when he hit the stop barrier that keeps you from going in the pond. That was the scariest moment of my life. I thought we were going to die. All of a sudden the bus turned right and hit me. I was trying to hold myself as I was being knocked around by the bus, screaming the entire time.

"When we stopped, I said 'I’m ok, are you ok?' to the bus driver," she added. "He didn’t answer me and then I asked again he said 'yeah' and he said 'that curve I didn’t see that'."

Bolcan recalls shaking and crying as she was helped out of the bus before calling her husband, and eventually being transported by ambulance to the hospital.

"I have bruises and my back hurts a lot," she said. "I have so much pain."

The driver of the Wave bus walked away from the scene and did not need to be transported to the hospital.

The Current contacted NRTA administrator Gary Roberts for comment and to ask whether the driver had been required to take drug and alcohol screenings following the accident.

“Unfortunately, a NRTA bus was involved in an accident this afternoon," Roberts said. "NRTA contracts with VTS of Massachusetts Inc. to operate the buses. NRTA is awaiting the results of their investigation at this time. I cannot comment until further information is gathered.”

Nantucket Police did not immediately return a message seeking comment.