A charter bus crashed into a tree on Northside just across the street from the UC Berkeley campus Friday evening.
At around 6 p.m., an Eastshore Charter Lines bus crashed into a tree outside a residence near the intersection of Spruce Street and Hearst Avenue, — close to the Northwest corner of the campus — and tore up the sidewalk in front of the residence. The bus stopped before hitting the building.
According to Berkeley Police Department Lt. Kevin Schofield, the driver was the only person in the vehicle at the time of the crash and was not transported to the hospital by police.
“We don’t know the cause of the accident at this point,” Schofield said at the scene.
He added that police did not get the sense that the driver was impaired or that the collision was the result of negligence.
About an hour after the crash, the driver exhibited what appeared to be minor injuries on his face and neck. He declined to comment.
After the accident, police blocked traffic heading west on Hearst between Arch and Oxford streets so the bus could be hauled away.
According to Tony Cuillo, an operator for Berry Brothers Towing & Transit Inc. who was on scene to help remove the bus, the vehicle appeared to be totaled.
“It’s a waste of a good bus,” he said.
Cuillo said he had heard the crash resulted from a brake failure.
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Too bad it didn’t crash into the tree on the other side of campus where Doodoochaser and its ilk are residing – it could have eliminated a problem…
I live in the apartment that the tree was right in front of. My roommate and I were so lucky to not have been there; but you can only imagine my shock to find a bus right in front of my house.
i was walking up le conte from hearst intersection when i heard the bus coming down the steep le conte hill. the brakes were squealing, then failed. the driver lay on the horn and went through the red light, turning right to head down hearst.