PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — SEPTA had begun additional training sessions for its bus and trolley operators this week, even before a bus jumped a curb and struck a building at 15th and Walnut streets Tuesday night. SEPTA chief safety officer says, with three previous crashes, including Friday's fatal bus collision, the extra safety review was ordered.
"This is something that we do twice a year,” said Ron Keele. “But in this situation, we've mobilized staff this week to talk about these specific accidents."
Keele says during the so-called "safety standdowns" managers are reviewing the rules of the road and safety procedures.
"We talk to everybody — supervisors, bus operators, trolley operators, maintenance. We talk to all of these folks about being safe."
So far this year, there have been eight major collisions between SEPTA vehicles. And in the past five days, there have been four SEPTA crashes — from Friday's bus collision on Roosevelt Boulevard that killed a 72-year-old passenger — to Tuesday night's incident.
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Keele says investigations into the most recent incidents are in the early stages, but it appears the string of four crashes is an unfortunate coincidence.
"Investigations are ongoing by my safety department in accordance with the state and federal guidelines. So there's things out there that we have to do to make sure that these things are being done and that we are operating safely."
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