Local police rule pedestrian incident an ‘accident’
A Big Blue Bus fatally wounded a 70-year-old homeless man Tuesday evening as he attempted to cross Ocean Avenue.
According to eyewitnesses, the man had the right of way when the Big Blue Bus tried to make a left turn from Broadway as the traffic light was changing, though Santa Monica police investigators have officially ruled the incident an accident.
“There is no indication of any wrong-doing,” said Lt. Frank Fabrega, a SMPD spokesman. “It is being considered an accident.”
The route 1 bus, number 4023, struck the man at 7:32 p.m., sending him flying nearly 20 feet. Witnesses said the man was bleeding badly from his nose, ears and head — though the LA County Coroner’s office has ruled the cause of death as “blunt chest trauma.”
Paramedics with the Santa Monica Fire Department transported the man to UCLA Medical Center where emergency room doctors pronounced him dead, according to an official with the LA County Coroners’ office.
“It hit him squarely in the chest and a made a big sound that went ‘boom,’” said Andrew Trayhan, a witness who was waiting for a Line 1 bus nearby. “It sounded like a gunshot.”
Police are not releasing the name of the deceased while they attempt to contact his next of kin. Big Blue Bus officials say it is against company policy to reveal the names of drivers involved in traffic accidents.
Police and coroner officials described the victim as a “transient.” One homeless witness said the man went by the name of “Pops” and stayed predominantly in Venice Beach.
“We knew him and he was homeless,” said Shawnine Meade, who also witnessed the incident. “He wasn’t one of those trouble-maker homeless guys. He was a really nice person.”
Police closed two south-bound lanes of Ocean Avenue between Santa Monica Boulevard and Broadway for roughly two hours while officers investigated the accident and talked with witnesses.
A forensic photographer took pictures of the scene, the bus — which had not sustained any damage — and a pool of blood smeared on the roadway near the curb.
6C6,A Big Blue Bus official said it is likely the driver has been taken off active duty while police and Big Blue Bus officials investigate the matter.
“Usually after an accident like this, the driver is not on active duty, they are not out driving the bus,” said Big Blue Bus Customer Relations Manager Joe Stitcher. “As you can imagine, it’s also a very traumatic event for them, and they need some time off from behind the wheel.”
The accident marks the second accident involving fatalities this month for the Big Blue Bus. Two people were killed and one placed in critical condition after a route 3 Big Blue Bus rammed into a car in West L.A. on Jan. 23.
The last time a Big Blue Bus driver was involved in a collision that resulted in a fatality was in January 1998, Stitcher said.
Witnesses said the bus driver stepped off the bus and saw the man lying in the street and immediately stepped back on the bus to call police. Unlike school bus drivers, the state does not require transit bus drivers to be certified in CPR and first aide.
Transit bus drivers are required under state law to take an annual safety course and to complete regular refresher courses on driving buses.
“We have an extensive training program and... all our drivers are current in their mandatory training required under state law,” Stitcher said. “There is always on-going training involved.”
“Its hard to say what (this accident) would change at all,” he added.
Witnesses to the accident are encouraged to call SMPD Investigator Chris Dawson at (310) 458-8954.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 1, 2002. Read the original PDF.