[UPDATES ARE PLACED AT THE BOTTOM OF STORY, BELOW:]
At approximately 10 a.m. this morning, a multi-vehicle accident occurred in downtown Asheville, causing damage to nearby buildings when a city bus crashed into 57 College Street, rupturing a gas line and seriously injuring a pedestrian. Streets are reopened and the gas line fixed, and the Asheville Police Department is asking for witnesses of the accident to come forward.
“Shortly before 10 a.m., a city bus struck the building at that location, causing a gas line rupture,” an announcement released this evening reads. The bus also struck an unnamed pedestrian, who was seriously injured, and is currently receiving treatment at Mission Hospitals.
The facade of Spa Theology was damaged by a vehicle, and related structural damage to the Mediterranean Restaurant caused a gas leak eyewitnesses said could be smelled from the street.
Photographs of the scene show damage to a bus, a truck, other vehicles and surrounding structures.
For much of the day, College Street was closed from Lexington to Haywood due to the gas line rupture. However, at 6:34 p.m., the APD declared that the streets were reopened and the gas leak had been repaired.
This report will be updated as more information becomes available.
Photoset of the scene by Alan Hantz here.
Photos by Alan Hantz
Full announcement from the APD below.
ASHEVILLE – Police are continuing to investigate a traffic collision that occurred this morning at 57 College St., downtown.
Shortly before 10 a.m., a city bus struck the building at that location, causing a gas line rupture. The bus also struck a pedestrian.
She is being treated at Mission Hospital for serious injuries. Investigators are not releasing her name at this time.
Streets have been reopened in the vicinity of the incident and the gas leak has been repaired.
Asheville Police Traffic Safety Unit officers ask anyone who saw the wreck to contact investigators at (828) 251-4085.
——-
Sunday, April 18: The Asheville Citizen-Times reports that “A woman on her way with her companion to their regular breakfast date at Mediterranean Restaurant on College Street lost a leg after on out-of-control city bus struck her Saturday morning.” The cause of the accident remains under investigation by the Asheville Police Department and will take several days to complete. The Citizen-times story is here.
I think I see Keanu Reeves behind the wreckage.
I was hanging out on Lexington waiting for Tops Shoes to open when I heard the accident. The bus jumped the curb and hit the building pretty hard. There was a woman laying face down on the sidewalk and her injuries were definitely serious. She was not moving and some people on the street were saying her leg had been severed. I don’t know if that’s true, but she was being attended to by someone. By the time ambulances got there, the smell of gas was in the air and it seemed like a good time to get out of there.
I also initially heard that someone was driving the wrong way on College, but when I checked back in at Tops, they were saying that the bus driver blacked out and that’s what caused the crash. All hearsay for sure, but that’s the word.
This report is terribly written. I wish the reporter would have done a better job. An unidentified woman had her leg severed as she was going into the Med restaurant. The reports of a Toyota truck going the wrong way are most likely coming from the fact that the bus hit the red toyota truck (above picture) and left it facing the opposite direction, however there is more than likely an ongoing investigation as to how this situation happened, and speculation only clammers the facts.
I have called the transit office regarding the bus drive speeding several time. I think it is about time the slowed the down now that a person has been seriously injured by a bus.
Great coverage of the bus accident this morning.
John
[b]This report is terribly written.[/b]
How so?
Pff questions Robr’s statement that “This report is terribly written.”
“At approximately 10 a.m. this morning, . .” Is leading with an approximate time good journalistic practice? Is “this morning” necessary after ” a.m.?” Since MountainX stories are online for many days, should the reporter have specified “Saturday morning,” rather than “this morning?” The reporter writes, “Streets are reopened and the gas line fixed, and the Asheville Police Department is asking for witnesses of the accident to come forward.” Using the present tense for “streets are reopened” doesn’t give the reader any useful information without specifying a time. Is the sentence also a run-on sentence, sticking the unrelated “and the Asheville Police are asking for witnesses . . ” to the compound sentence about reopened streets and the fixed gas line?
The report continues, ” ‘Shortly before 10 a.m., a city bus struck the building at that location, causing a gas line rupture,’ an announcement released this evening reads.” The reporter has already told us when the accident occurred, so the quoted “shortly before 10 a.m.” is redundant. Who released the announcement? No source attributed. “Released this evening . .” What evening?
“The facade of Spa Theology was damaged by a vehicle, and related structural damage to the Mediterranean Restaurant caused a gas leak eyewitnesses said could be smelled from the street.” Another run-on sentence? Too much passive voice? The second clause is confusing: ” . . “structural damage . . .caused a gas leak eyewitnesses said . . .”
Shouldn’t the writer have told us that Spa Theology and the Mediterranean Restaurant were the site of the damage at the top of the story, than just referring to “57 College Street?” Readers probably don’t know the number sequence on College Street but are probably familiar with the long-established Mediterranean Restaurant.
“Photographs of the scene show damage to a bus, a truck, other vehicles and surrounding structures.” Was the reporter not on the scene? Is she working just from photographs and the press release from the police department? If she’s not on the scene, how did she learn from “eyewitnesses” about the smell of the gas leak?
Did the story contribute any more information or better understanding than the full police report posted below?
Asheville city buses absolutely 100% need to slow down!!!!!!!!!!!!!