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Middlesex DA investigating MBTA bus crash in Newton

The bus dangled from a bridge in Newton Corner.Newton Fire Department

A dramatic MBTA bus crash that injured eight and left the massive vehicle dangling over the Massachusetts Turnpike was being investigated Sunday by the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

A Route 57 bus on the Washington Street overpass in Newton veered off the road about 7:35 a.m. Sunday and smashed through a guardrail before coming to a stop with one wheel in midair, authorities said. No other vehicles were involved, according to an MBTA spokeswoman.

The driver, a 43-year-old woman who has worked for the T since 1996, was injured, and seven of the 10 passengers on board were taken to the hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo and Transit Police. The three other passengers declined medical attention, police said.

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MaryBeth Long, a spokeswoman for Ryan, confirmed that the district attorney’s office was investigating but declined to answer questions. It was not clear why Ryan’s office, which handles criminal matters, was looking into the crash.

Pesaturo acknowledged that there was an investigation by the district attorney’s office but would not say whether the driver had been involved in other accidents or if she had a record of disciplinary actions at the transit agency.

“There is nothing in her work history that would prohibit her from operating a bus,” Pesaturo said in an e-mail.

After the crash, Newton Fire Department officials and state Department of Transportation engineers secured the bus with ropes and chocks, and then supervised its painstaking removal from the scene, wary of damaging the overpass.

The accident sent debris flying into the highway below, closing several westbound lanes until midafternoon, according to State Police.

The overpass was deemed structurally sound, and only one lane of Washington Street remained closed late Sunday, according to Newton police.


Dan Adams can be reached at daniel.adams@globe.com. Todd Feathers can be reached at todd.feathers@globe.com.

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Correction: An earlier version of this story had the incorrect age of the bus driver, due to incorrect information provided by the MBTA.