UPDATE: Man in stable condition after city bus strikes car

Columbia Fire Department rescue teams work to free the driver of a silver Infiniti i30 passenger car involved in an accident with a City of Columbia Transit bus. The 28-year-old man was found conscious at the scene but sent to University Hospital with injuries. The accident happened Thursday evening at the intersection of Bearfield Road and S. Old 63. It took rescue crews about 45 minutes to extricate the driver from his car, which was pinned underneath the bus and against a telephone pole. Two heavy-duty tow trucks were needed to lift the bus off of the car before rescue crews could remove its occupant. None of the 14 passengers on the bus at the time was injured.   ¦  MATTHEW CAVANAH/Missourian

COLUMBIA — A 23-year-old man was taken to University Hospital with what were believed to be non-life threatening injuries Thursday evening after an accident involving a City of Columbia Transit bus, according to a news release from the Columbia Police Department.

At 5:45 p.m. Columbia firefighters responded to an accident in the roundabout located between Old 63 and Bearfield Road.

According to the release, Rhonda L. Banks, the bus driver, lost control of the vehicle, drove over a concrete island and struck a silver Infiniti i30 passenger car.

The car was found pinned beneath the city bus, with the driver of the car, James A. Clarkson of Columbia injured and trapped inside his vehicle.

Two Heavy Rescue Squads from the Columbia Fire Department and two wreckers from Carl's Towing were called in to lift the bus off the car and allow access to the victim. It took rescue crews approximately 45 minutes to free Clarkson, according to an earlier release.

Fourteen passengers were on the bus at the time of the accident; none were injured, the news release said.

Nicole P. Chow, 21, of Columbia was a passenger in the Infiniti at the time of accident. She was not injured, according to the news release.

At 10 p.m., the bus was still blocking the roundabout.