A woman in Denver was hit by a bus recently as she attempted to cross the street. Initially the police thought the woman was trying to get off the bus when she was hit, but that turned out to be incorrect. Thankfully, the woman was okay and did not appear to be seriously injured. The bus driver involved in the crash wasn’t arrested, and a replacement bus driver was sent to take over the remaining route.
It wasn’t but a week ago that another person was struck by a bus and suffered serious injuries in the collision. However, in that case it appears that the pedestrian “caused” the accident, though the source article didn’t elaborate on those circumstances.
There are a couple of points to be made here. The first is that pedestrians should be a priority when it comes to road safety. They have no protection, and when they are crossing the crosswalk in accordance with the traffic signals, they expect to be safe. However, that doesn’t always happen. The drivers that violate the rules and encroach upon the crosswalk usually are subjected to serious consequences for their actions.
The other point to make here is in relation to buses. When involved in accidents, city buses bring some complications to the situation. There are more legal hurdles that the victims have to clear. The bus driver could be held liable, or the bus company itself could be held liable — or even both depending on the circumstances.
Source: Denver 7 ABC, “Woman hit by bus at Broadway and Colfax,” Anica Padilla, May 3, 2016