After my weekly Friday morning beach path run, my friend and I like to grab a coffee at Jinky’s at 2nd and Santa Monica Blvd. Their honey oat latte is my favorite coffee drink anywhere in the world, all due respect to Alana’s on Venice Blvd in Mar Vista.
Anyway, as we were waiting to cross the scramble crosswalk at around 7:45 this morning, latte’s in hand; a Metro Bus heading south on 2nd made a turn to head east. Halfway through the intersection, the driver lost control of the vehicle as it skidded on the newly-wet and slippery surface and onto the sidewalk on the southeast corner. It hit the light post and demolished the cement trash can that I had been standing next to moments before.
Amazingly, nobody was hurt on or off the bus.
The driver pulled the bus off the curb and drove about fifty yards down the street before pulling over. Within moments, a pair of community ambassadors were on hand and minutes later Metro supervisors joined them.
The ambassadors called the incident into the city and there were members of the sanitation team on-site so quickly that the ambassadors had to stop them from cleaning it up before SMPD could arrive and document the crash.
This incident, while terrifying to be part of, is actually a reassuring sign of the city and Metro doing things right.
The driver was trained and reacted properly to a temporary loss of control, reducing the bus’ speed and pulling away from the intersection and to the side of the road so traffic could pull through. The ambassadors were on the scene quickly, talking to the drivers and witnesses to make sure people were ok. Metro also had supervisors on site quickly.
The incident was scary, but both the city and Metro responded quickly and appropriately. Kudos to both of them. Less than fifteen minutes after the crash, I was on the I-10 heading home…latte still warm in the cupholder.
