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40 Injured In 2 San Francisco Crashes

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Forty people were injured and more than twenty hospitalized in two separate San Francisco collisions —  one involving a bus and a dump truck, then just minutes later a light-rail train and a truck crashed nearby.

In the first collision, an outbound San Francisco Municipal Railway bus was traveling west on Geary Boulevard when the dump truck in front of it slammed on its brakes. The bus swerved to avoid a crash, but rear-ended a second dump truck instead, smashing out both bus windshield panes.

A dozen passengers were sent to the hospital including one with serious injuries. The bus driver was unharmed and is being tested for drugs and alcohol, authorities said. The crash happened at the intersection of Geary Boulevard and Laguna Street in the Japantown neighborhood.

About 7 minutes later, in the close-by Bayview neighborhood, a truck collided with a northbound Muni T-line-rail after the driver made an illegal left turn on the corner of Third Street and Innes Avenue.

The driver, Juan Godinez, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he was trying to deal with traffic at the time, but “What happened was I go too close to the train,” he said. Godinez had not been cited by late Friday afternoon, according to authorities.

Upon impact, the train derailed and the truck’s cab and trailer folded around the front of the train, which was almost full with commuters.

Passenger Robert Williams told the San Francisco Chronicle that the crash was jarring. “The next thing you know, I heard a loud screech and the train came to a sudden stop,” Williams said. “It was like an earthquake. Lots of people fell down.”

Of the twenty people who were injured, most had mild to moderate injuries. Nine people elected to go to the hospital.

The truck belongs to Total Transportation services, Inc. in Los Angeles County. Both accidents were still under investigation Friday afternoon.

Sources

San Francisco Chronicle

Charlotte Observer

 

 

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