TriMet conducts safety review

In response to an accident that involved a TriMet bus that struck several pedestrians near Portland State, TriMet changed three bus routes in the downtown area and plans a top-to-bottom safety review for all aspects of its operations. The accident, which occurred on April 24, resulted in two fatalities.

After TriMet looked into immediate ways it could improve safety around stops and turns in downtown, it made route changes to lines 12, 17 and 44, according to Bekkie Witt, a TriMet public information officer. 

Immediate changes to the lines 12, 17 and 44 address left-hand turns in order to give drivers more time to get into position before turning to continue to the Portland Transit Mall, according to Witt.

As part of the route changes, Witt said westbound line 17 will no longer stop at Southwest Fourth and Hall streets. Though lines 12 and 44 will continue to service the stop, buses will now turn left at Southwest Fourth and Mill to allow more time and distance for making the left turns.

In addition, TriMet is conducting a safety review that will include a look at what other transit agencies have done about left-hand turns, as well as examine mirror placement, training and other aspects of operational safety, according to Witt.

 “This comprehensive safety review is an opportunity to challenge all of our old assumptions and take into consideration any and all new approaches to improving safety across our system,” said TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen.

On April 24, just prior to midnight, police officers responded to the accident that involved a TriMet bus and five pedestrians at the intersection of Northwest Broadway Boulevard and Northwest Glisan Street, where three pedestrians were trapped beneath the bus, according to a press release by the Portland Police Bureau.

Though a medical unit was able to extricate the pedestrians from beneath the bus, only one person out of the three trapped survived. Jenee Hammel, 26, and a 22-year-old female, later identified as Danielle Sale, died at the scene, according to the release. Robert E. Gittings, 22, suffered critical injuries.

As officers continued their investigation, Jamie Hammel, 23, and Ryan Hammel, 28, were discovered to have non-life threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals.

No arrests have been made. Sandi L. Day, 48, has been identified as the driver of the bus and is cooperating with investigators, according to the release.

Though the investigation is ongoing, initial interviews and an examination of the scene indicate that the bus was turning left from westbound Glisan Street onto southbound Broadway at the time of the accident, according to the release. As the bus turned southbound, it collided with the group of pedestrians walking west across Broadway.