Driver blamed for tour bus crash in SF’s Union Square
An out-of-control tour bus crash that injured 19 people near Union Square in San Francisco last year was the result of operator error, officials said Wednesday after a lengthy investigation ruled out mechanical failure.
A four-month probe by the San Francisco Police Department pinned the blame squarely on City Sightseeing operator Kenneth Malvar, who was cited for driving at an unsafe speed.
Sgt. Kevin Edison of San Francisco’s traffic collision investigation unit said Malvar’s claim that the brakes went out on the coach was discounted after investigators reassembled the wrecked carriage’s brake system and found nothing wrong.
[...] the gas pedal seemed to get stuck and the bus continued to gain speed on its own, the lawyer said.
Witnesses described the double-decker, open-air bus careening down Post Street through the busy retail district that was choked with shoppers.
Pipes, wood and tarps from the scaffolding fell onto the terrified bus passengers, some of whom were able to escape while those who were trapped deeper inside the coach were left screaming for help.
Video released in the days following the incident showed the bus crashing through a number of orange plastic barricades that were supposed to be filled with water but were not.
When the bus finally came to a halt, amid construction scaffolding, four cars were crunched in a contorted heap at the nose of the bus, with two more vehicles alongside.
After the crash, Malvar said through his attorney that the wreck had been preceded by a small explosion that crippled the vehicle’s hydraulic brake system.
The coach itself was not registered with the California Public Utilities Commission, which regulates sightseeing buses, and had not been inspected prior to the wreck, as is required by state law.
A surprise inspection of City Sightseeing’s fleet, conducted by the California Highway Patrol just days after the wreck, found 61 violations, including 29 for equipment problems.
The state inspectors immediately ordered four of the six buses they inspected out of service for having inoperable emergency exits, faulty brake lamps and in one case, a potentially serious fuel leak.
All of that, while concerning, appears to not have played a role in the Union Square crash, according to San Francisco investigators, who said all of the evidence pointed to human error, not equipment failure.