Philadelphia

Driver hurt in 4th SEPTA crash within a 5-day span in Philly area

The incident is one of multiple crashes involving SEPTA vehicles in Philadelphia in the past four days.

NBC Universal, Inc.

A driver is recovering after a SEPTA bus jumped a curb and hit a wall near 15th and Walnut Streets in Center City on Tuesday night.

The driver of the bus is hurt with an injury to her arm and in stable condition, SEPTA officials said. There were no passengers on board when the crash happened.

This crash follows three others since Friday.

SEPTA's System Safety Division is investigating the crash, officials said.

Some bus routes are now being re-routed around the area.

Tuesday's incident is one of four crashes involving SEPTA vehicles within the span of five days.

On Monday, July 24, seven people were hurt after two SEPTA trolleys collided in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, according to SEPTA officials.

In another incident, a SEPTA bus crashed into a pole in Philadelphia on Sunday night, SEPTA officials told NBC10. Four people were hurt.

A 72-year-old woman was killed and 19 others were injured when a SEPTA bus backed into another bus in North Philadelphia on Friday, July 21.

SEPTA shared that 33 collisions happened between their vehicles from 2020-2022. Passengers were hurt in just five of those 33 crashes.

Between January 1, 2023, and July 25, 2023, there have been eight crashes between SEPTA vehicles, compared to:

  • 9 in 2020, with 2 injuries to bus/trolley passengers
  • 5 in 2021, with no injuries to bus/trolley passengers
  • 6 in 2022, with one injury to bus/trolley passengers

Riders shared their concerns with NBC10.

"I think they’re short staffed. I think they need more help. They need to hire more people," Elisha Miller, of Philadelphia, said.

"To have one crash in one day is a concern so this is very concerning to us," Ron Keele, Chief Safety Officer at SEPTA, said. "We’re looking at all of our rules and regulations. We’re doing what we call a Safety Stand Down. We're going out talking to all the employees about being safe. We're reiterating all the safety rules and operations rules we have in place."

SEPTA told NBC10 that it has 1,100 buses out every day to serve 300,000 riders in the Philadelphia area. Officials urge riders that SEPTA is a safe way to travel and commute.

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