9 injured when SEPTA bus, police cruiser collide

A Philadelphia police officer and eight bus passengers were hospitalized this afternoon with minor injuries after a police cruiser collided with a SEPTA bus in North Philadelphia, authorities said.

Police said the officer's cruiser was headed eastbound on Erie Avenue when it turned onto Old York Road and was struck by a Route 56 bus.

The officer, from the 39th district, was taken to Temple University Hospital to be treated for neck pain. The injured passengers were transported to Temple and Albert Einstein Medical Center.

Both vehicles sustained minor damage, said SEPTA spokesman Andrew Busch.