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| Re: Bus Operator on the B46 Stabbed (125883) | |||
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Re: Bus Operator on the B46 Stabbed |
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Posted by TheHat on Tue Dec 2 03:12:14 2008, in response to Re: Bus Operator on the B46 Stabbed, posted by TheHat on Tue Dec 2 02:56:26 2008. As I researched more I found this article. I stand corrected about partions in Seattle, IIRC thay had them after the McLauglin incident. It appears that I maybe wrong I will find more info later. Please read the article below. Will the transit industry every learn or are we just expendable even less so than the equipment we drive?Will the MTA honor our operator as Seattle did theirs? Or will we scream in silence as we we are thugs anthis i the thug life as Mayor Bloomberg would like us to? Bus crashes after passenger grabs wheel 05:45 PM PST on Thursday, November 4, 2004 KING 5's Gary Chittim reports Witnesses talk about the crash Safety improvements for Metro buses SEATTLE A Metro bus crashed in north Seattle after an angry man allegedly grabbed the steering wheel Thursday morning. At least nine people were injured. The Route 358 bus was traveling southbound on Aurora Avenue in north Seattle near 80th Street around 10:30 a.m. when witnesses said the man grabbed the steering wheel from the driver. The witnesses said the two were arguing over an expired bus pass. The driver agreed to take it but words were exchanged, which escalated into an argument, the passengers said. Windows were broken in the crash. "The gentleman then started to wrestle with the bus driver, grabbed the steering wheel, made a hard right and crashed us into that pole over there..." said witness Kim Liskum. "That bus could have tipped over, we could have crashed into something else and people could have died." The bus mowed down a tree, brought down some wires and hit a power pole. Transformers from the utility pole fell into Aurora, partially blocking traffic. "The poles and the tree kept smashing windows, and you could see the driver was trying to come to a stop," said one rider. The crash happened near the Greenwood area in Seattle. The bus was crowded, with more than 60 passengers, including a woman in her eighth month of pregnancy and some small children. At least nine people were injured and taken to hospitals but the injuries were said to be not life-threatening. The worst one appeared to be a broken knee. Dr. Bruce Gardner just happened to be driving right behind the bus when it careened off the highway and crashed into the electric pole. Hopping over live power lines sparking on the ground, he jumped onto the bus to help the injured. "When I got to into the bus there were a lot of people crying and a couple of people hyperventilating, a woman on the floor, a pregnant woman who was quite concerned," he said. The man, aged around 25, who was fighting with the driver tried to escape on foot but was caught by a worker at a nearby Allstate business. Some passengers suffered minor injuries. "I said: 'Go get him, go get him,'" said Sandy Troy at Allstate. "And my co-worker ran after him." "Me and one other guy who was over here chased him down and ran three or four blocks and found him hiding behind an office," said Ken Dungan, who also happens to be a long-distance runner. "When I was running after him, I was quite excited, wondering... what this guy had done," Dungan said. "We didn't want him to get away because we knew he must have done something really bad." They stood guard until the police arrived and took the suspect into custody. Passengers credited the driver with staying calm, as the crash could have been much worse had the bus crashed into cars. The driver, who has been with Metro bus for more than 20 years, was uninjured. The crash tore down a tree and a power line. Power cycled in and out over the neighboring area and 15 customers still lacked power hours after the accident, said officials at Seattle City Light. The southbound lanes were closed until about 4 p.m., when one left lane reopened. Two right lanes remained closed. The bus was moved but utility workers were still on the scene in the late afternoon. It was expected to take several hours to clean up the area, dig a new hole for the power pole, install a new transformer and hook up all the lines. Safety improved after 1998 crash This bus accident was a scary reminder of the worst accident in Metro's history: In 1998, a passenger shot and killed Mark McLaughlin, the driver of a bus crossing the Aurora Bridge a few miles south of Thursday's crash. The driver, the gunman and a passenger died. The incident prompted Metro to beef up security by placing cameras on 25 percent of its fleet, and police on higher risk routes. On Thursday, driver safety was again called into question. "I sort of worry about the drivers and I know some routes are worse than others," said Lyndal Johnson, a bus passenger. Three died in the 1998 Aurora Bridge bus crash. "The incident this morning underscores the need to be ever vigilant and not to slack in our efforts to improve safety and security," said regional transportation chair Rob McKenna. He said the number of driver assaults is falling. Out of 3,000 operators, there are on average 70 to 80 reported assaults each year, down from around 100 a decade ago. Today there are 27 full-time sheriff's personnel who ride some of the higher risk routes. King County plans to add another six staff this budget year. But at least one bus driver would like to see more. It'll keep the passengers safe, equipment safe and the driver safe by having undercover police officers on certain routes, said Metro bus driver Oscar Davis. No doubt security measures were put to the test Thursday, including the emergency button found standard on every bus that the driver activated. It helped police apprehend him quickly, said police spokesman Sean Whitcomb. A protective shield for bus drivers is also being considered. |
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