A Boston area bus driver is under investigation after his passengers called 911 to report him for a hit-and-run with a parked car last week.
According to WWLP, a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority bus was running in Melrose, Mass, on the evening of November 11 when riders report it struck a parked vehicle near the intersection of West Wyoming Avenue and Whittier Street.
"The bus driver went to pull in to like, where the stop is and there was a parked van and it kind of just went and slammed into the van," Laurie Salvato-Sousa, a passenger on the bus, told WWLP. Salvato-Sousa said it wasn't until another passenger insisted that the driver got out of the bus to inspect the damage he had caused. "He got out for only a couple of minutes then just got back on the bus and kept driving."
As the driver continued on his route, concerned passengers called 911 to report the crash. Massachusetts State Police troopers quickly caught up to the bus and stopped it on Main Street in Stoneham. Troopers removed the driver from the bus and issued a field sobriety test. Passengers were transferred to another MBTA bus without incident and continued on their way.
"The driver is being charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage," Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan told WCVB. "The MBTA police are looking into the possibility the driver was operating the bus under the influence of prescription medication."
MBTA Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gonneville told WCVB that Transit Police are currently handling the investigation, and the driver, a twelve-year veteran of the MBTA, will not be allowed to drive an MBTA vehicle until the investigation is complete.
According to WWLP, a Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority bus was running in Melrose, Mass, on the evening of November 11 when riders report it struck a parked vehicle near the intersection of West Wyoming Avenue and Whittier Street.
"The bus driver went to pull in to like, where the stop is and there was a parked van and it kind of just went and slammed into the van," Laurie Salvato-Sousa, a passenger on the bus, told WWLP. Salvato-Sousa said it wasn't until another passenger insisted that the driver got out of the bus to inspect the damage he had caused. "He got out for only a couple of minutes then just got back on the bus and kept driving."
As the driver continued on his route, concerned passengers called 911 to report the crash. Massachusetts State Police troopers quickly caught up to the bus and stopped it on Main Street in Stoneham. Troopers removed the driver from the bus and issued a field sobriety test. Passengers were transferred to another MBTA bus without incident and continued on their way.
"The driver is being charged with leaving the scene of an accident with property damage," Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan told WCVB. "The MBTA police are looking into the possibility the driver was operating the bus under the influence of prescription medication."
MBTA Chief Operating Officer Jeff Gonneville told WCVB that Transit Police are currently handling the investigation, and the driver, a twelve-year veteran of the MBTA, will not be allowed to drive an MBTA vehicle until the investigation is complete.
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