Surveillance Camera Shows Bus, Truck Ran a Red Light

January 7, 2010

San Francisco - A video footage showed that the collision which happened in Potrero Hill intersection involving a pickup truck and a bus was caused by both drivers beating a red, police investigators said Thursday.

The collision, which injured seven people, happened at 12:05 am on Tuesday.

The bus’s onboard surveillance camera showed that its driver, Pete Pon, who has been employed for the past 31 years by the Municipal Transportation Agency (Muni), has run a red light while heading north on De Haro.

The video also showed that the driver of the truck has also run a red light while traveling west on 18th Street.

Meanwhile, Muni’s spokesman Judson True said the agency will conduct further investigation to determine if there were other factors which caused the accident.

Under the agency’s protocol, operators and drivers involved in an accident can face disciplinary action and even termination if they are proven to be negligent.

According to police report, Pon and the other five passengers of the bus suffered from moderate injuries while the truck’s driver suffered from serious injuries but is now in stable condition.

Muni has installed onboard surveillance cameras from all its buses and trolleys which can record a few-second video footage before and after a vehicle swerves sharply or brakes hard.