52 hurt in Lincoln Tunnel accident

The accident in the Manhattan-bound center tube of the Lincoln Tunnel earlier this morning. The New York Fire Department, two buses collided with a motorcycle in the tunnel. The motorcyclist was riding between the two buses when the front bus stopped for traffic and the rear bus slammed into the rider from behind. The motorcyclist was severely injured and brought to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan with a fractured femur and shoulder, an FDNY spokesperson said. The crash victim was intubated at the hospital, the spokesperson added.

A total of 52 people were injured in the incident. Some were treated at the scene, while 13 were taken to Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

Among the buses were a No. 116 bus out of Perth Amboy and a No. 139 bus out of Lakewood.

NJ Transit added seven trains from Secaucus to New York to accommodate customers off diverted buses. North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue Co-Director Jeff Welz spoke with Port Authority officials who estimated that the center tube will remain closed for a "good part of the day" as officials investigate the accident.

The Weehawken Volunteer Ambulance Squad were first on the scene after the accident, according to Jersey City Medical Center spokesman Mark Rabson.

Rabson also said that JCMC was one of many that responded to the scene but did not take any patients since it was easier for emergency vehicles to transport those injured into Manhattan from the tunnel.

Rabson also noted that JCMC, Palisades Medical Center, Hoboken University Medical Center, Meadowlands Hospital, the recently sold Bayonne Medical Center, EMS and Port Authority held an emergency drill in November to train the crews to respond to situations in the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.