CHP Blames Bus Driver Error for Accident

California Highway Patrol investigators have concluded that driver error led to an MTA bus accident last month in which the 40-foot vehicle veered off a freeway exit ramp, smashed a car and slammed into a palm tree, injuring 28 passengers.

The accident occurred Jan. 17 on a Ventura Boulevard offramp from the northbound San Diego Freeway in Sherman Oaks. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority bus filled with 54 passengers, including 11 standing, had stopped at the Getty Center that Saturday afternoon on its way north.

After an intensive inspection of the vehicle’s mechanical system, including a re-creation of the accident in a Dodger Stadium parking lot, crash specialists concluded that bus driver Dominique Mix-Thornton probably panicked and pumped the brakes when she should have jammed on them.

Although investigators said they found no significant mechanical trouble with the 13-year-old bus, the MTA is under pressure from federal transportation officials to upgrade its fleet.

According to MTA data, more than 40% of its bus fleet is eligible for retirement under federal guidelines, which suggest that buses be taken out of service after they reach 12 years of age.

Still, MTA officials said Thursday that the agency’s bus fleet is well-maintained.

“We are not surprised that the coach was found to be in good condition,” said Jon Hillmer, general manager of metro bus operations. “It receives extensive maintenance throughout its life.”

The CHP findings are but one piece of information in the MTA’s ongoing investigation of the accident, Hillmer said.

“We are following our normal procedures,” he said. “We are going to wait until we get all the facts--and the CHP report was the last piece.”

Hillmer said transit officials intend within the next two to three weeks to interview Mix-Thornton, who is on leave recuperating from injuries suffered in the crash. “We want to wait for her to come back so that she can be present to answer questions,” he said.

Telephone calls to Mix-Thornton, who has driven public buses for slightly more than a year, were not returned.

Transit officials also plan to review other aspects of the accident, Hillmer said, including road surface conditions, the layout of the intersection at the end of the ramp and the operator’s driving record.

“Even [after] the most minor accident, if it is the operator’s fault, we will send them for additional retraining. . . . And depending upon the circumstances, there could be other discipline [ranging] from time off without pay up to dismissal,” Hillmer said.

A representative of the transit drivers union reserved comment on the CHP findings until he received the full report.

“We haven’t seen anything, and until the union sees the CHP report, I doubt that anybody would be willing to make any comment,” said Goldy Norton, a United Transportation Union spokesman.

Asked if the driver’s age and years of service could have contributed to the accident, Norton said less experienced drivers are not an impediment to passenger safety.

“Anybody who is hired by the MTA and goes through all of the probationary periods is qualified,” Norton said. “We don’t believe the MTA would put an unqualified driver on the street.”

The median age of MTA drivers is 43 and the median years of experience is 10, transit officials said.