A Donald Trump-themed RV, almost completely covered in posters praising the former president, crashed into a pole on Sunday.
Photos of the crashed vehicle went viral and show that the side of the RV was ripped open following the collision. The crash happened in Staten Island, New York, just hours before a rally in support of Trump—with the bus thought to be on the way to the event.
Hundreds of Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters attended the rally, which came in the wake of Trump's conviction last week for falsifying records related to hush money payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump ally and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani spoke at the event in defense of the former president, who is campaigning for a second shot at the White House amid a string of legal woes.
"On Sunday June 2, 2024 at approximately 1157 hours police responded to a single vehicle collision at the intersection Hylan Boulevard and Reid Avenue in the confines of the 122nd Precinct," a New York City Police Department (NYPD) spokesperson told Newsweek. "The operator of the vehicle states he parked the vehicle and exited it. When he returned to the vehicle he saw it strike a utility pole. The passenger of the vehicle was uninjured."
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Ron Filipkowski, an outspoken Trump critic and editor of MeidasTouch.com, shared photos of the scene of the crash on his social media accounts. The images showed that the vehicle was festooned with numerous posters. One prominent sign attached to the front of the RV read, "TRUST JESUS." Another sign added: "Women for TRUMP," and some were emblazoned with "TRUMP: Law and order." A giant poster on the side of the vehicle read "Trump Store," suggesting the merchandise was for sale.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, Filipkowski captioned one image: "Trump bus crashes into a light pole today on the way to Staten Island rally for Trump." His post was liked more than 18,000 times, shared more than 3,000 times, and drew almost 3,500 comments.
Trump bus crashes into a light pole today on the way to Staten Island rally for Trump. pic.twitter.com/sLR3hAu3Vu
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) June 2, 2024
Many of those responding to the post were Trump critics who mocked the incident. One wrote of the mangled bus: "Did it swerve too far to the right?" Another made a Trump joke with a play on the word "pole," saying: "I guess if he can't top the polls, he'll just knock them down." Others said that a "Trust Jesus" sign on the wreckage suggested that the accident was an act of God.
The vehicle was later identified by the New York Post as belonging to Donna Eiden and her husband, Rocky Granata, who drive to MAGA rallies across the U.S. and sell Trump-themed merchandise.
The aftermath of the incident was captured on camera Damian Cross, who uploaded the footage on X.
He filmed city workers clearing debris and working on making the area safe, and a police officer could also be seen in the area. It was a "freaking miracle" no one was hurt, Cross told his viewers as he filmed the scene.
Trump Bus Accident Recovery https://t.co/C9FNIxHytm
— Damian Cross (@DamianCr0ss) June 2, 2024
Cross later posted a statement on his X page, saying: "My initial reaction was to be thankful that nobody was hurt. RawStory quoted me as calling it a 'Freaking miracle' (thanks for capturing my vernacular, guys). The video went a bit viral, but a lot of the reactions to the video mocked religion instead; just using the accident itself as self evidence as some sort of failure on the part of Trump or Jesus.
"This was a good lesson for me. There was a time when I would take up fights with every one of these people and insist that they accept my viewpoints from my own video, because its mine. But that's not sensible. When you put something out there, people are going to see it however they want to, and the consequences of that are their own responsibility, not mine.
"As for me, I got my 15 minutes of fame and I enjoyed it. Nobody did get seriously hurt in the accident, and as a consequence of that I really got to enjoy engaging with those commenting, and I got to watch the viewer count rise. That was a rather unexpected, rather fun, Sunday afternoon. Thanks to everyone who shared the video. See you...next....crash? Good lord I'm sorry."
Update 6/3/24, 12:27 p.m. ET: This article was updated to include a statement from an NYPD spokesperson.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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