Four people were injured, two of whom were taken to a hospital, after the driver of a Muni 29-Sunset bus suddenly braked to prevent the vehicle from colliding with a car at approximately 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
The bus was heading toward 3rd and Paul when the incident occurred at 19th and Holloway.
A passenger who left the bus, who only identified himself as John, said “According to the bus driver or according to everyone on the bus, it seems like there was a car that cut this bus off, right before its intersection on Holloway and 19th [Avenue]. And that force, I think that was essentially an emergency brake.”
The bus driver, who declined to provide his name, said he slammed on the brakes to avoid a car that suddenly turned right, cutting him off. He called Muni Central Control immediately to notify them of the incident.
Jeffrey de Leon Perez, a first-year student, said a woman brought an electric scooter on the bus. de Leon Perez said there were some complaints about the scooter on the already full vehicle, but the woman left the scooter in the middle of the aisle regardless.
John said when the bus suddenly braked, it caused one of the passengers to trip and fall on the scooter as other passengers fell on that person. John also said the bus braked so hard that he was flung forward from his position in the rear of the bus to the middle of the bus.
“There was an old woman and the young girl who fell on the scooter — who tripped on a scooter. And then they both fell and then there’s like, wow, three to four people who fell on the, on the little, on the girl,” de Leon Perez said. “And her leg was caught on the scooter and then they fell on her leg, which caused it to pop, and I heard the pop.”
After the sudden braking, de Leon Perez thought the bus crashed into the car.
de Leon Perez said that it took nearly 45 minutes for the paramedics and firefighters to arrive after the incident.
Since there were injuries involved, the driver will be tested for drugs and alcohol to determine if he was impaired in any way during the incident, according to the Muni supervisor who responded and declined to provide a name. Camera footage will be checked to determine who was at fault for the incident.
