A Tiger Transit bus was hit head on by another car this morning, and another bus was in a hit-and-run accident on Monday.
The collision today occurred while the bus was on a North College route near Copper Beach apartment on Shelton Mill Road, when a car, driven by a 31-year-old man from Auburn, was turning onto the street and hit the bus head-on.
Don Andrae, director of parking services, told The Plainsman that footage from the bus showed the driver of the other car with a cigarette in one hand, and he was texting in the other.
Stephen Sheffield, senior in journalism, was on the bus when it was hit.
"He was on his phone, so he never looked up," Sheffield said. "He swerved across the lane. He slammed on his brakes to brace it, but there was nothing she (the bus driver) could do."
The car was undriveable, and the bus needed to be towed, as well. Another bus was brought to the scene to take students to campus.
A Tiger Transit bus was hit in a head-on collision on Shelton Mill Road on April 9, 2019.
No injuries were reported.
"He probably wasn't going any faster than 30 because he had just pulled out," Sheffield said. "I mean his foot was on the gas, so he was accelerating. The whole bus was shook. It was kind of like a jerk, a shake. His car is totaled, and he damaged the bus pretty bad. It was a pretty hard hit."
Another Tiger Transit was rear ended on Monday. Andrae said the footage from the bus showed a van drive into the back of the bus.
No injuries were reported, and the bus was able to keep driving on the route.
Andrae said having 57 buses on route, there are bound to be accidents, but he is glad neither of the accidents were caused by Tiger Transit employees.
Lorenza Dorsey, Auburn Police Division captain, told The Plainsman that the cause of the wreck remains under investigation by the police.
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