1 person killed in shuttle bus accident

HOUSTON - One person was pinned to a pole and killed and 11 others were taken to the hospital after a bus accident in the Texas Medical Center.

It happened shortly before 6 p.m. at the intersection of South Braeswood and Holcombe.

Somehow the driver of the bus lost control moments before the crash happened. Investigators told KPRC Local 2 a passenger on the bus ran from the back to the front and tried to take hold of the wheel but the bus crashed.

"It is very possible the driver had a medical condition," said Deputy Chief Fernando Herrera with the Houston Fire Department." But that is not definitive yet."

"Somebody inside the shuttle told me she thought the driver may have passed out," said Alexis Perez. She saw the whole thing happen and was one of the first on the scene.

"I ran over there and there was about 10 of us trying to push the shuttle off the lady," Perez said. "I think she died on impact. I know somebody checked for a pulse and she didn't have one."

Deputy Chief Herrera said there were 17 people on the bus and 11 of them were taken to area hospitals to be treated for their injuries.

The most serious ,he said, was some abdominal bleeding on the driver and one patient was going in and out of consciousness.

"Almost everybody inside the shuttle was injured," said Perez. "Everyone was disoriented and we had one guy with a broken arm and gashes on his forehead. People were throwing up and one lady passed out completely."

The woman who was hit and killed in the crash hasn't been identified yet. The shuttle bus is used by Medical Center employees to get around the large campus. The crash remains under investigation.

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Source: Click2Houston (Bauer, 11/28)