The MBTA now says that bus passengers aboard a Route 222 bus traveling down Washington Street in Quincy were forced to jump into action after the driver suffered an apparent seizure, according to multiple sources including WBZ and WCVB. Security camera footage from the moderately crowded bus shows the 37-year-old driver convulsing violently as some quick thinking passengers rushed into action.
The bus was heading toward the Fore River Bridge when the driver went into distress. One rider, Richard Hiort, grabbed the steering wheel and stepped on the break, bringing the bus safely to a stop while holding the driver up with his other hand. Speaking to WHDH news, Richard explained, “Basically I just held him. I grabbed onto the back of the chair. Back of the — one of the bars there, and just held him so he didn’t fall out of the seat.”
Luckily, no injuries were reported. This is a developing story and there is no word yet on if the driver had a preexisting condition that could have caused the seizure. If not for the passenger intervention, the situation could have been much worse. Just two days later, an MBTA Green Line train headed toward the Fenway stop derailed and slammed into a wall just outside of Kenmore Station. Multiple injuries were reported including at least four complaints of back pain. The serious accident caused a major headache for commuters all day Monday.
Later this week State Transportation Secretary Richard Davies himself confirmed that the train’s operator, Sydley Gardner was fired for failing to report an incident where he hit a pedestrian only to be reinstated by an arbitrator two days later. WBZ’s Jon Keller echoed the public outrage by questioning why Gardner was ever hired in the first place when it was discovered that he had an astounding 20 moving violations, including seven for speeding. It appears that passenger safety needs to become more of a priority for the MBTA as the number of personal injuries related to T accidents is a constant threat.
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Sources:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2014/03/13/keller-large-accountability-necessary-in-functioning-society/
http://www.boston.com/news/source/2014/03/mbta_had_previously_fired_driver_involved_in_fenway_derailme.html
http://www.whdh.com/story/24977575/mbta-driver-has-seizure-passengers-quickly-stop-bus