7:18 PM: According to many, many folks on Twitter, a 22 Fillmore bus hit a fire hydrant at Haight at around 6:30 (twitter time is so iffy!) Sunday night, sending water shooting into the air for what twitter user (the first, we believe, to report on this) “RoyalPineapple” says is “three stories.”
Elsewhere
Driver In Bus-Wheelchair-Fire Hydrant Mess Was New to the Job SF Weekly
SF Muni Bus Knocks Over Fire Hydrant CBS5
Bizarre Muni accident causes injuries, flooding ABC7
Muni Bus Hits Hydrant, One Hurt KCBS
While Muni has not issued any comment or service alerts either to the media nor via 511, AlertSF says that as of 6:55 PM, there will be a “Traffic disruption for the next 2 hours at Fillmore and Haight. Avoid the area.” Presumably, both the 22 and lines that serve Haight Street are disrupted.
The Appeal’s requested both internal camera and DriveCam footage of the accident.
7:50 PM: Appeal rep[orter Matt Baume, who is contributing to this story, says he’s received reports that there is “Heavy damage to adjacent buildings” as the water shooting from the hydrant has trickled into the nearby units and businesses. He says he’s also hearing of multiple flooded basements. We’re working to confirm these reports.
8 PM: More from Matt Baume: he says that observers report that the wheelchair lift from the 22 Fillmore that struck the hydrant was extended, and required a crowbar to retract it.
With that and the shattered window on the front door, some are musing that the chair lift was extended while the bus was in motion. However, he is unable to get anyone on the scene to confirm this.
We’ve reached out to MTA spokesperson Judson True (as we noted earlier, we’re eager to get interior and DriveCam footage from the incident), but have yet to receive a response.
8:20 PM: Baume, reporting from the scene, says that damage to basements in the gush-adjacent buildings has been confirmed by at least one tenant, the owner of a nearby t-shirt store, and that “everyone is bringing huge buckets of water out of each building.” Baume also reports that “there’s someone from City handing out claim forms to all the people who own buildings/store(s)” in the area.
>8:47 PM: Muni’s released the following statement regarding the accident:
While the incident below remains under investigation by the San Francisco Police Department and the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), initial reports are as follows:
At approximately 5:45 p.m., a customer exiting a 22 Fillmore electric trolley bus fell from the extended wheelchair lift of the vehicle, which was stopped (pointed southbound) on Fillmore Street at Haight Street (the northwest corner).
The customer was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries.
At approximately 6:05 p.m., the Muni bus moved forward and the wheelchair lift hit a fire hydrant and sheared it from the sidewalk. The cause of the bus’s movement is under investigation.
The fire hydrant reportedly struck a Muni Inspector who had responded to the incident. The Inspector was treated at the scene.
Water from the hydrant reportedly caused flooding in at least one nearby building.
The intersection of Haight/Fillmore was closed by the SFPD and Muni buses serving the 6 Parnassus, 71 Haight-Noriega and 22 Fillmore were re-routed around the affected area.
Per normal procedure, the Muni Operator will be placed on non-driving status and tested for drugs and alcohol.
The scene cleared and regular Muni service was restored at 7:35 p.m.
Matt Baume contributed significant reporting as well as the slideshow and video to this story.
