> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Two dead after Big Blue Bus accident
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/two-dead-after-big-blue-bus-accident/
- Published: 2002-07-26T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T00:34:09.000Z
- Author: Carolyn Sackariason
- Tags: Crime, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Two people are dead and one is in critical condition after a Big Blue Bus plowed into their car in West Los Angeles Tuesday.

At about 7 p.m., a 1997 Honda Civic, driven by Robert Vicelich was turning left onto Manchester Avenue from Sepulveda Westway when it was struck on the driver’s side by the bus, owned and operated by Santa Monica, said West Los Angeles Police Department spokesman Jack Richter.

Vicelich and one of his passengers, Elizabeth Ewing, were transported to Daniel Feeman Inglewood Hospital where they were pronounced dead.

A third passenger, who remains unidentified, is listed in critical but stable condition at UCLA Medical Center.

The 52-year-old bus driver, whose identity is not being released by authorities or city officials, sustained minor injuries. None of the 20 passengers on the bus complained of injuries at the accident scene.

The Honda Civic was pushed across Manchester Avenue, where it collided with another car that was waiting in the left turn lane. The driver of that car, who was the sole occupant, was not injured.

“There are a lot of witnesses (investigators) need to talk to and right now it’s all under investigation,” Richter said.

The bus was on route No. 3, which goes from the Los Angeles International Airport to Santa Monica, said Big Blue Bus Customer Relations Manager Joe Stitcher.

> “They were nearly home. It’s a bloody tragedy.” — — ALLAN ROCHER Australian Consulate general

The bus driver, who has worked for the city for nearly 10 years, is traumatized by the accident and is taking a few days off, Stitcher said. He added that he was advised by the city attorney’s office to not release the driver’s identity because the investigation is on-going.

It is unknown who is at fault for the accident. No charges have been filed against the bus driver.

The last time a Big Blue Bus driver was involved in a collision that resulted in a fatality was in January 1998, Stitcher said.

Vicelich, Ewing and the third passenger all worked at the Australian Consulate together and were presumed to have been on their way home from work at their offices in Century City, said consulate general Allan Rocher. The three of them lived in Marina Del Rey.

“They were nearly home,” Rocher said. “It’s a bloody tragedy.”

Vicelich, a New Zealander, had been a passport servicer, but recently moved to a different department.

“Ironically, his tasks were to notify next to kin for the same kind of thing,” Rocher said.

Ewing, a U.S citizen, worked as a finance administrator and the unidentified passenger, also a U.S. citizen, is a part-time employee in the finance department.

All three individuals have worked at the consulate for about three years, Rocher said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 26, 2002.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/072602.pdf?ref=smdp.com)