Charges are pending in the crash of two vehicles at William Street and Jefferson Avenue at about 2:30 p.m. Monday, when a car careened into three pedestrians, Buffalo police said.
Buffalo police said the driver of a Rent-a-Center van, who was not identified, was turning left from William Street onto Jefferson when the van hit the car, traveling on Jefferson, sending the car into three pedestrians at a bus stop and a utility pole.
In all, five people were injured: the three pedestrians, who ranged in age from late teens to early 20s and the two drivers, police said. All were taken to Erie County Medical Center for treatment.
At the scene of the crash, Buffalo Fire Commissioner Garnell W. Whitfield Jr. said the injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.
A witness said the three pedestrians were at the corner waiting for a bus.
The impact sent one of the pedestrians rolling over the hood of the car and the driver of the car through the front windshield, the witness said. The driver had to be removed through the front windshield frame.
By hitting the pole, the driver avoided hitting several others at the bus stop, said the witness, who was across the street from the scene of the crash.
Glass and debris from the wreckage littered the sidewalk near the utility pole. The left front of the van was crumpled, and the driver declined to discuss the crash.
Police did not provide names, but Whitfield said there were four men and one woman.
A mother of one of the injured pedestrians also was at the scene. She said her son, Shondale Fayson, 20, and his girlfriend, Jasmine Watson, 18, were hit. Fayson was hit first while trying to push Watson out of the way, she said, though she conceded she had not witnessed the accident.
The intersection was reopened to traffic about 30 minutes after the crash, authorities said.

News Staff Reporter T.J. Pignataro contributed to this report. email: kronayne@buffnews.com