6 taken to hospital after tree falls on MARTA bus

More than a dozen people were injured Thursday when a large tree fell onto a MARTA bus in southwest Atlanta.

MARTA spokesman Lyle Harris said six of the 40 passengers were transported to Grady Memorial Hospital and seven other passengers complained of injuries.

The extent of the injuries was not immediately known, but Harris said they "didn't seem to be life-threatening injuries. ... I think most people were complaining of back pain."

The driver was not injured, and there was minimal damage to the bus, he said.

He praised the driver, who "handled his duties responsibly. He's a veteran driver and he did a good job of making sure that his passengers were as safe as possible under the circumstances."

Harris said the incident happened around 10 a.m. on Campbellton Road at Stanton Road. He said another bus was brought in to take passengers to their destinations.

Passenger Taquillia Alexander said "the whole bus just shook ... everybody was just shaken up, scared, running to the front. ... it hit so hard, the majority of the people fell to their knees."