Woman Struck by School Bus in Crosswalk in Critical Condition

Bret Hanna

Attorney
(866) 735-1102 Ext 421

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A woman was struck by a school bus early this morning in Salt Lake City as she crossed Redwood Road on 1700 South in a crosswalk. The accident occurred around 7:00 a.m. after the bus left the Salt Lake City School District bus yard; there were no students on the bus at the time of the accident.

A witness, Paulene Hansen, was walking just behind the victim as she was struck. She reported that at the time of the accident, she and the victim had the "walk" sign in their favor. The bus driver also had a green light but as she was turning left, she had to yield the right-of-way to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Hansen noted that the victim saw the bus coming and tried to get out of the way but she could not. She put her hands in front of her face just before being struck. The impact threw her about 40 feet according to Hansen.

The bus driver reported that she simply did not see the pedestrian because it was dark. School District officials report that this intersection has lighting issues and that this is the second time in thee years that one of their buses has been involved in an accident in this intersection. The District goes so far as to specifically warn its bus drivers to be careful at this intersection because the lighting is poor and the drivers are leaving the bus yard in the early morning hours. The driver has been put on administrative leave pending an investigation consistent with District policy.