Faulty brakes may have led to horrific tour bus crash
SAN FRANCISCO (KTVU-AP) - Sources close to the investigation into a horrific tour bus crash on Union Square that left six people in critical condition on Monday told KTVU that mechanical failure may be to blame.
20 people were hurt in the crash and four people remain critical after the bus sped out of control Friday afternoon just before 3 p.m.
Surveillance video from a nearby business shows the City Sightseeing double decker tour bus traveling down Post Street three blocks before the crash site. It can be seen hitting a cyclist making a turn onto Post from Mason Street.
Witnesses tell KTVU the bus was going at least 40 miles an hour when it slammed into a cyclist. It then hit a couple of pedestrians and struck several cars before smashing into a pedestrian walkway on Union Square.
SFPD Officer Carlos Manfredi said the official cause of the crash is still under investigation and could take weeks.
"We have 30 witnesses that we're interviewing. We have 20 victims that we're also interviewing," said Manfredi. "There's video surveillance all throughout Union Square, not to mention all the people who were out there at the scene who pulled out their cell phones and may have captured something."
Insiders close to the investigation say faulty brakes are responsible for the accident.
SF Supervisor Jane Kim said she is working with Assemblyman Phil Ting to tweak state law to allow tighter city controls on tour buses.
"I have huge concerns about these very large and heavy vehicles that are moving through our most congested neighborhoods," said Kim. "I just think the CPUC is very extended. They regulate utilities all the way to limousines and airport shuttles. I'm not sure they have the resources to make sure there's proper enforcement on setting a high safety bar."
Just last year, a city worker was hit and killed by a trolley tour bus in the crosswalk in front of city hall. In 2013, a tourist suffered injuries to her face when an open-top bus in the Richmond district snagged some low lying phone cables.
"We want to make sure our visitors and tourists are safe," Kim said.
The CPUC says in the past there have been issues with City Sightseeing for various reasons but in 2013 an employee took over operations and cleaned up the business.
The California Public Utilities Commission said the bus owned by tour company City Sightseeing appears not to have been registered with the agency as required. The CPUC maintains a list of all tour vehicles that carry more than 11 passengers in California. The CPUC said all vehicles registered with it must pass California Highway Patrol inspections.
CPUC spokeswoman Constance Gordon said "our preliminary information on the accident is that the license plate of the bus involved in Friday's crash does not appear to match the vehicle the CPUC has on file, nor did City Sightseeing officially notify the CPUC that it added the bus that was involved in the crash to its operations, which it is required to do."
Company chief executive Christian Watts said in a prepared statement Monday that the bus that crashed Friday afternoon in the city's Union Square shopping district was inspected on Oct. 25 and that it is registered with the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Watts didn't respond to calls and emails asking about the CPUC's claims. He earlier said he was "deeply saddened" by the accident.