Tragedy nearly struck Manhattan on Saturday morning as a city bus came eerily close to plowing through a group of elite runners at the New York City Marathon. A terrifying video shows just how close they came from disaster.
Although the actual marathon will take place on Sunday, a few shorter races took place on the same course one day prior. That included the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line 5K.
Runners zip through the streets of midtown Manhattan and finish at the famed finish line in Central Park. The incident occurred about 800 meters into the race.
As the elite male runners crossed Madison Avenue, a Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus apparently did not see them coming. Three motor bikes were out in front of the runners to help establish the course and keep the streets clear.
They had to quickly swerve out of the way of the bus, which was forced to come to a screeching halt. It did not make contact with the bikes.
Fortunately, the runners were behind the bikes and were able to avoid any contact. They came within inches of the breaking bus as they ran by.
U.S. 5K champion Morgan Beadlescomb talked about the near-disastrous incident after the race. Neither he nor his competitors were able to wrap their heads around what happened.
It’s New York, I guess? I don’t know. That’s the only explanation I have.
— Morgan Beadlescomb
Beadlescomb wants someone to be held accountable for his or her inability to properly stop traffic and clear the course. It could have been a fatal mistake.
I didn’t see where the people at the light were, or who was blocking traffic. Somebody has to be held accountable for that because that could have killed somebody.
— Morgan Beadlescomb
His full answer went much more in depth. He said that the runners were lucky because they were running pretty slow out of the gates and a faster pace might have led to a collision.
Beadlescomb and his competitors were grateful that things did not go differently. However, they want answers. And once they get those answers, they want accountability.