AC Transit bus crash injures 5 downtown

The cause of a crash involving two Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District buses that injured five people in San Francisco Wednesday morning remains under investigation.

The collision, reported at 9:22 a.m. in the area of Fremont and Folsom streets, occurred when a bus traveling north on Fremont collided with several vehicles including another bus, according to police Officer Robert Rueca.

The bus then went on to the sidewalk and struck the scaffolding of a building in the 200 block of Fremont Street, but missed hitting any pedestrians in the area.

A total of five people were sent to area hospitals near the crash, including the drivers of both buses, a bus passenger and a passenger in a private vehicle, according to AC Transit spokesman Robert Lyles.

One of the five people appears to have taken themself to the hospital at some point after the collision, Lyles said.

The crash closed the Fremont/Folsom Street and Harrison Street off-ramps from Interstate Highway 80, but both have since reopened, Rueca said.

As of around 4 p.m., the only remaining street closure was on the section of Fremont Street between Folsom and Howard streets, where crews were still working to remove the bus that crashed, Rueca said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

Lyles said AC Transit has collected video from the involved buses and is checking to see if any San Francisco city buses in the area have video that might be helpful:

“We’re very grateful that the injuries were limited, and that there weren’t more bystanders or pedestrians involved in this. … We are investing considerable energy and effort into trying to ascertain exactly what happened.”

Lyles said that Fremont Street was cleared fairly quickly and buses on the popular Transbay bus line were able to regain access to the San Francisco terminal by around 1 p.m.