Muni Bus Slams Into Car In San Francisco's Panhandle
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A Muni bus crashed into a sedan in San Francisco's Panhandle neighborhood during the Thursday evening commute, pushing the car nearly the length of a city block.
Muni spokesman Paul Rose said the 43-Masonic bus hit a car making an illegal turn near the intersection of Fell Street and Masonic Avenue around 6:20 p.m.
"Frightening, very frightening. Very traumatic," said Lilian Ishan, a passenger on the bus.
At the time of the crash, witnesses said the driver suffered a medical emergency. People on the scene estimated the bus was traveling 40 miles an hour when the collision occurred.
"There was some glass shattering. There was a lot of shaking and people falling on the ground and we just kept going. And the bus just didn't stop," passenger Dr. Frank Primus told KPIX 5.
Primus, a surgery resident at UCSF, asked the driver some questions. He said he was conscious and didn't show signs of a heart attack or stroke.
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"There wasn't anything acutely wrong with him…I think he got into some shock, he just wasn't able physically to stop the bus. Like he hadn't made the decision to put his foot on the brake for whatever reason," he said.
Muni Bus Slams Into Car In San Francisco's Panhandle
Primus made a split-second decision to move the driver's foot out of the way hit the brakes himself. After he stopped the bus, Primus then went to work doing triage, helping some of his fellow passengers with their injuries until ambulances arrived.
"I just stopped the bus, I just did. I wouldn't say I'm a hero or anything," Primus said. "It just needed to be stopped."
According to witnesses, the bus pushed the black Volkswagen sedan for nearly a city block to Fell Street, where it came to a stop in the panhandle of Golden Gate Park.
"There was screaming all over the park. There were children around the scene. My heart dropped," said Heda Mansour, who was jogging and almost got hit when the crash occurred. "It was terrifying."
The bus driver was taken to the hospital with back pains, while the driver of the car was able to walk away from the accident. No pedestrians were injured in the incident.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.
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