Just last week this blog reported on a fatal accident involving a Houston Metro bus that struck and killed a pedestrian as he was crossing the street. Houston residents should be shocked to find out that another bus driver has been fired after putting more people’s safety at risk.
According to the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority, a city bus that had passengers on board rear-ended another vehicle in the 3000 block of Antoine Drive in northwest Houston last week. The collision sparked a chain reaction of car accidents that ended up involving 11 vehicles.
– Article By Richard Weaver
In all, nine people were injured in the accident, seven on the bus and two from other vehicles. Fortunately no one suffered any life-threatening injuries, but the situation could have been much worse. Many times city buses don’t have seat belts for passengers, and if the collision had happened at a faster speed, the results could have been disastrous.
And according to a later report, the driver, a 10-year veteran, was fired after an internal investigation showed he was at fault. According to surveillance camera footage, the driver stepped on the gas instead of the brake as he was approaching stopped traffic.
In the previous accident, the driver had been working for metro for 12 years. This is starting to become an alarming trend that Houston residents should be worried about. Clearly the city is not doing all it can to ensure that its drivers are following proper safety standards. In less than a month, one person has died and nine people have been injured because of Metro bus drivers; hopefully officials get the message now.
Source: Houston Chronicle, “9 hurt in accident involving Metro bus,” Robert Stanton, May 1, 2012
