Bus Driver Died While Attempting To Open Bus Doors While Bus Was Moving

Michigan Case Report: 13MI019
Release Date: March 17, 2014

The following report is the product of our Cooperative State partner and is presented here in its original unedited form from the state. The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the individual Cooperative State partner and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

SUMMARY

In winter 2013, a female bus driver in her 40s died when she was run over by her bus while attempting to re-enter the bus as it moved forward in a parking lot. The decedent arrived at her last stop on the north end of her bus run and drove her bus into the parking lot. The bus faced east and was positioned near the top of a slight downward slope in the parking lot. The bus wheels were turned to the right. The decedent opened the front bus door and the only passenger on the bus de-boarded. The back door of the bus was closed when the decedent de-boarded after the passenger. The bus transmission was in Drive. The decedent did not set the parking brake. The back door was closed - if the back door was open, the bus would not move. After she de-boarded, the bus began to move forward and the front door closed. In an attempt to stop the moving bus, she ran alongside it and tried to place her hands between the front door flaps to push the doors apart so she could re-board the bus. The front wheels of the bus ran over her foot and up her leg, causing her to fall down. A bystander attempted to move her away from the path of Location of decedent X N 2 the bus, but was unsuccessful. As the bus continued to move forward, the rear wheels ran over her. Witnesses called for emergency response. The bus stopped after colliding with two parked, unoccupied vehicles. The decedent was transported to a local hospital by ambulance and was declared dead at the hospital.

Bus Driver Died While Attempting To Open Bus Doors While Bus Was Moving [PDF 1.29 MB]