More than 24 hours after witnesses reported that a SamTrans bus broke through a lowering railroad crossing arm and hurtled across the tracks at Oak Grove Avenue in Menlo Park shortly before the train arrived, the transit agency confirmed it was one of its buses.
The driver, an employee of the transit agency for more than 10 years, did report the accident, according to SamTrans spokesperson Christine Dunn. She attributed the delay in confirming the vehicle’s involvement to work schedules and locations making it difficult to reach the right staff.
Dunn said the driver is now off work pending the completion of the investigation, as is standard procedure.
Bus 292 had just left the Menlo Park Caltrain station carrying five passengers before running through the railroad crossing arm, Dunn said. No one was injured. Further details were not available due to the ongoing investigation.
Investigators will analyze eyewitness accounts, the GPS log from the bus as well as video footage from an onboard camera, according to the transit agency.
An accident review committee that includes SamTrans Superintendent Karambir Cheema as well as the driver’s union representative will review the findings to determine whether the accident was preventable, who was at fault and what sort of discipline may be warranted.
SamTrans asks that anyone with information about the accident contact Cheema by phone at 508-6401 or via email at cheemak@samtrans.com.
The Almanac reported earlier that witnesses were sure it was a SamTrans bus. “There’s not a doubt in my mind that it was SamTrans,” one said. “VTA buses look really different.”
According to the state vehicle code, buses must stop between 15 and 50 feet from a railroad crossing and listen for approaching trains before proceeding across the tracks. Dunn confirmed that SamTrans buses follow the code, and added that if gates are down, drivers must wait until the arms rise and warning bells stop ringing.
The incident happened at 9:23 a.m. on Tuesday, July 30.
“I heard a loud snapping sound and looked up to see (the eastbound) SamTrans bus hurtling across the tracks, and the crossing arm flying through the air over the bus and coming to land on the tracks at Oak Grove Avenue,” a witness said.
Seconds later, southbound train 230 arrived and ran over the broken crossing arm, she said. “The arm was lying across the tracks roughly perpendicularly when the train approached. The engine appeared to run right over the crossing arm, which eventually came to rest alongside the tracks.”
Conductors got off the train and investigated the crossing. After about three minutes, the train got underway to Palo Alto, according to a witness.
“The bus clearly ran the crossing … bells were ringing and arms were going down,” she said. “It was one of those big, double buses, heading eastbound on Oak Grove.”
The bus continued down the street after crossing the tracks, she said.
Multiple people called 911 about the incident. Menlo Park police responded to the scene for traffic control, but jurisdiction over the investigation lies with the transit division of the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office.
SamTrans confirmed yesterday there was no damage to the train. Dunn said approaching trains were alerted to slow down as they proceed through the crossing until work crews could repair the crossing arm.
Almanac staff writer Sandy Brundage contributed to this story.
I locked my keys in the trunk of my car last year. Instead of bothering people, I hopped on a bus. The gal driving the bus clearly had headphones on ”white iPod head phones” I was surprised since it is illegal to do so. I figured bus drivers should be held to a higher standard.
This was our santa clara county buses not samtrans. However I would not be surprised if the driver of the samtrans bus was also wearing headphones either that or sleeping??
There’s some lies in this story. The 292 doesn’t even go to menlo park it goes to hillsdale san mateo. And the guy didn’t report the accident at all. If he had he’d still have a job
I have seen VTA buses run red lights on Alma, Embarcadero, Page Mill, and Oregon . It is important that these drivers be reported, since they endanger passengers and whatever vehicle they may hit.
Hello!
I was crossing in the opposite direction of the bus.
The bus started when the lights stopped and the arm was completely up as I did. However, shortly after we all started to cross, the southbound train triggered the lights and arms again.
The bus was already crossing the tracks. The arm fell on top of the bus and snapped. The bus did not hurtle across the tracks in any way. The bus continued to the next block and turned. I do not know if they pulled over at that time or not. However, the bus did not continue down Oak Grove at that time.
@anonymous: read the story, it was #119.
@Jennifer: call Mr Cheema at SamTrans and give your story. he is looking for witnesses!
The story states it was bus 292 — which is impossible since 292 runs between SFO and Hillsdale Mall in San Mateo.
The SamTrans route map confirms it was either bus route 286 or 296:
http://www.samtrans.com/Assets/maps/SamTrans+Maps/SamTrans_Peninsula_Vertical_10-2014-web.pdf
Those are the only two routes that could cross the tracks on Oak Grove while “carrying five passengers” while school is out for the summer.
And since the bus was leaving the station, we know it was crossing eastbound, and the comment from eyewitness @Jennifer states the bus turned off Oak Grove at the next block — which would be Laurel — which means it could only have been route 296.
What year is this?
Some stories should be retired to they don’t contribute to further confusion.
“Reality Check,” why are you commenting on a dormant, two-year-old story? Your post fails to explain why.
I assumed comment was related to very recent incident — http://paloaltoonline.com/news/2015/07/14/menlo-park-caltrain-frees-up-tracks-after-train-strikes-crossing-gate