Two Big Muni Accidents Injure Dozens In San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- Two separate Muni accidents, both of which happened within minutes of each other Friday afternoon, have injured about 40 people in San Francisco, with 20 of those requiring hospital treatment.
A light-rail vehicle and an 18-wheel big rig collided in the Bayview neighborhood at Third and Innes, sending 11 people to local hospitals and injuring nine more, according to San Francisco Fire Department Lieutenant Mindy Talmadge.
Police said the light-rail vehicle was traveling north on Third Street toward downtown when the truck -- which was also traveling north on Third -- allegedly made an illegal left turn on to Innes Street in front of the train. The collision, which was reported at 1:36 p.m., caused the train to derail several feet off the tracks, according to Officer Albie Esparza.
A Muni bus was sent to help shelter those injured.
Shortly before the Third Street incident, around 1:30 p.m., an articulated Muni bus and a dump truck collided on Geary Boulevard in the city's Japantown neighborhood.
The crash appears to have occurred when the driver of a westbound dump truck traveling in front of the bus slammed on the brakes, Sgt. Danielle Newman said.
The driver of the Muni bus braked and swerved to avoid the dump truck, and then struck another dump truck traveling in the same direction, Newman said.
There were 20 people injured in the collision, including 12 who were transported to San Francisco General Hospital for injuries that were not believed to life-threatening and eight who were treated and released at the scene.
There is no dollar estimate of the damage, but the Muni bus was significantly damaged, according to Muni spokesman Paul Rose. Muni is testing the driver for drugs and investigating who is at fault in the accident, he said.
Westbound Geary Boulevard was closed between Webster and Laguna streets for about two-and-a-half hours Friday afternoon by the accident.
TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2014 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report