WASHINGTON – Montgomery County officials investigating Monday’s Ride On crash say that was not the first time a bus slammed into buildings.
There have been two other incidents since March 2011 when a bus hit a Gaithersburg townhouse. In May of the same year, another bus slammed into the side of a Kentucky Fried Chicken on Georgia Avenue near the Glenmont Metro station.
Both crashes were preventable and caused by driver error, says Sue Tucker, a spokeswoman with the Montgomery County Executive’s office. The driver of the March incident no longer works for the county, but the second driver is still a county employee. Tucker could not say whether that person is driving buses.
Officials say the driver of Monday’s crash was a 16-year veteran. The bus had less than 40,000 miles on it, Tucker says.
The driver and several passengers had minor injuries. No one in the Silver Spring home was hurt.
WTOP’s Kate Ryan contributed to this report. Follow Kate Ryan and WTOP on Twitter.
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