UPDATE: We got some more details on the accident “The driver of the car was a woman, she looked to be in her mid-forties. (The Muni driver) was all “WHAT ARE YOU DOING? WHAT ARE DOING?!” and told her to turn off her car, because they were going to be there a while. She looked totally terrified, and didn’t get out of her car, just got on her cell phone.” Keep it classy, Muni.
And, speaking of keeping it classy, we also heard back from Muni spokesperson Judson True, who let us know
“that per our normal procedure the operator involved has been tested for drugs and alcohol and placed on non-driving status pending the outcome of the accident investigation.”
“State laws covering personnel privacy prevent us from discussing any disciplinary procedures involving our employees. We do work hard to prevent accidents and minimize their impact on our budget…the police are investigating the accident (along with the SFMTA of course).”
Rain Jokinen was on the 27 Bryant at about 9:15 last night and witnessed this accident between her bus and a car. In her words:
The driver of the 27 Bryant was making a right turn onto Leavenworth from a far lane. There was clearly a car in the right lane next to him, but when Muni wants to turn, Muni will turn, no matter what lane they’re in. He ended up pulling off part of the car’s front bumper and proceeded to curse out the driver of the car. And we, the passengers, were now stuck in the heart of the Tenderloin.
We emailed Rain, and she elaborated to us: “I was sitting in the back, on the right side, so I totally saw that car was there, and I could tell the driver knew it was there too, but he wanted to be a bully and drive around it, and then CRUNCH.”
We’ve emailed Muni spokesperson Judson True to see if he can tell us more about this or these types of accidents. It seems like there are a couple questions that need to be answered, here: Are there any repercussions when a Muni driver responds aggressively to a (not at fault) driver of a car he hit? And, in this time of Muni poverty, how does Muni view what seems like the easily avoidable expense of Muni-caused accidents?
We’ll let you know what Judson says when we hear from him.
Photo: Rain Jokinen
