San Francisco Officials: Employee Error Caused Runaway Muni Bus Accident

Online, March 2, 2011 (Newswire.com) - On Tuesday morning, witnesses were shocked to watch an unmanned Muni bus roll down O'Farrell Street and slam into a light pole at the intersection of Van Ness Avenue. While no one was injured in the San Francisco bus accident, the crash raised even more questions about the safety of Bay Area public transportation as well as the quality of the busses' drivers.

An initial investigation into the Muni bus accident found that two employees of the transportation agency did not follow proper procedure when a mechanical problem was discovered regarding the bus earlier that morning. A Muni spokesperson told the that the strict procedure in place for mechanical problems was not followed by the mechanic who was called in or by the driver of the bus.

The mechanic has been placed on administrative leave and the bus driver is working but not operating vehicles. Both employees were asked to take a drug test.