Roger
Authorities have released the name of the woman who died in an MTD bus accident this week.
Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed 67-year-old Eve Debra Johnson was struck and killed by an MTD bus after it drove onto the sidewalk of Figueroa Street near Chapala.
The incident is under investigation.
MTD Santa Barbara released the following statement on Thursday:
“MTD offers our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the individuals involved.
MTD is cooperating fully with the investigation being conducted by the Santa Barbara Police Department, and due to the ongoing nature of the investigation, no additional information is available at this time.”
Update by Santa Barbara Police Department
On Wednesday, October 9, 2019 at 2:16 P.M. the Santa Barbara Police Department Combined Communications Center received numerous 911 calls reporting an MTD bus collision at the corner of Figueroa and Chapala Street.
Upon arrival, public safety personnel observed two victims on the ground outside of the bus. One victim was deceased while the other had suffered major injuries. Multiple passengers on the bus claimed injury.
A Santa Barbara Fire Department Incident Commander quickly assessed the scene and determined the number of potential casualties exceeded the immediately available resources. As per county protocol, he initiated an MCI or mass causality incident. That alerted region-wide public safety agencies, the hospital, and ambulance services to be prepared to deploy additional resources and apparatus if necessary. Additionally, the Police Department deployed their mobile incident command vehicle and summoned the Critical Incident Traffic Investigation Team. Approximately 20 police officers and 20 firefighters were involved in the incident.
An unknown number of people were aboard the bus at the time of the collision. At least two bus passengers needed to be taken to the hospital. Their injuries were categorized as moderate. Many others on the bus reported injuries but declined medical transport and left the area on their own volition after speaking to police investigators.
According to witnesses, prior to the collision the bus was traveling north on Chapala Street before making a right turn east on to Figueroa Street. For a yet-to-be-determined reason, the bus continued turning, driving up onto the sidewalk and striking two individuals before coming to rest inside a city parking lot against four vehicles.
Investigators are in the process of interviewing more than 20 witnesses, including the bus driver. The area in which the incident took place is expected to remain closed for a number of hours while investigators detail the scene.
The cause of the crash remains unknown.
Incident at Figueroa and Chapala…Something happened and I missed the call posting in case others know what is up, please share.
Of all the things to livestream…
Texting.
It sounds like a potential DUI.
“DUI!!” “HEART ATTACK!!” “TEXTING!!” I came to hear the diagnosis by Edhat commenting experts and wasn’t disappointed. Maybe let’s wait to find out what actually happened, though.
Great start to MTDs construction. All the busses loading and unloading on different street corner is already dangerous . The bus drivers expect civilian cars to wait or reverse so the busses can make their turn. (Especially Infront of the public market/ Victoria theatre- turn isn’t wide enough)
Sorry but I have a disability that isn’t visible even though I am young. I hate the assumption that because I am young, I must give up my seat to an elderly rider.
Thank you traffic expert, Mr. Trump.
With your expert training and experience driving buses, I guess we don’t need the Police or Highway Patrol to investigate these matters….. We’ll all just wait for your expert opinion anytime anything happens.
You certainly don’t have to give up your seat to an elderly or obviously disabled rider if you need it yourself. I am a rider with an inability to stand while the bus is moving. I am also a bit old. When I get on to a crowded bus I sometimes have to ask for a seat. The driver cannot start driving until I’m seated—I am that obviously disabled. I’m sure MAUVE was suggesting that able-bodied riders pay attention and offer seats when appropriate. It’s astounding how often people do not. And then I am pleasantly surprised when someone does. I am aware that apparently able people sometimes have bad knees or whatever. But a bus full of teenagers surely has a few who can get up for a one-legged old person. It is sad to me that the person who offers a seat is often the middle-aged woman who has clearly been on her feet all day. But I digress.
DUI is not ruled out until the police say so, maybe alcohol has been ruled out, but a drug test won’t be done that quickly . It is not uncommon for arrests for complicated incidents to come later in the investigation, after all evidence has been gathered and the facts have settled.
Why are you so hard up for a DUI? Will you accept an alternative cause? Sounds like many of you here will not.
@924 no one’s “hard up for a DUI”. Why is it so wrong to wait for facts and point out that DUI is not, in fact, ruled out at this point?
SBLIFE – because it’s vulture-like in here, everyone playing investigator and claiming to know what the cause was. And yeah, DUI has not been ruled out yet, but neither has any other cause. No need to add to speculation by stating the obvious. Lots of possible causes haven’t been ruled out yet, but by specifying and singling out DUI, it’s doing nothing but feeding the vultures.
SBLIFE – and another thing – how would they go about prosecuting a DUI if they did not perform any tests? No hospital means no blood was drawn, which means no drug test. No arrest means no field sobriety or breathalyzer test was failed. So yeah, pretty sure DUI is ruled out at this point.
at 9:11 – when do you think they did a drug test? There on the street? No. A blood test for drug intoxication requires going to the hospital or at least the police station. They don’t draw blood at the scene of a traffic accident.
I was responding to a comment that mentioned DUI, not “singling out” DUI. We have the same goal here – don’t speculate when there are no facts available. That includes armchair investigators ruling out DUI. Who says they didn’t perform a drug test or go to the hospital? A random comment on edhat? I would be shocked if a drug test was not performed, as there is a fatality and City-owned transit involved.
Funny how one’s background and experiences affect one’s guesses about the unknown. My first thought was that the driver had either a stroke or a heart attack or some kind of seizure.
Just came back from the collision scene. There are heavy deposits of tire rubber along the outside edge of the curb, starting at the curb cut for the wheel chair ramp. The places where the tires jumped the curb are heavily marked with tire rubber. In all likely hood, the driver cut the turn too tight, hit the curb hard and lost control. MTD, the City of Santa Barbara and the County of Santa Barbara were warned years ago that the MTD 40′ buses were too large for the narrow streets of downtown Santa Barbara. This is a matter of public safety, and comments related to issues of public safety should not be censored.
Why were you at the scene of the accident? Finally showing your true identity as an NTSB.
Did they ever find out if the driver was under the influence? Or texting? Or even may have had a heart attack? May the victim Rest In Peace. Prayers and condolences to her love ones. Also pray for a fast recovery for the injured victims.