POWAY, Calif. (KGTV) - Residents in a Poway neighborhood are raising questions after an MTS bus plowed into several parked cars, pinning a teenager between a truck and a fence on Tuesday.
The scene that greeted Joselito Jose in front of his home Tuesday afternoon was overwhelming.
“Very destructive because …. a big, big crash,” said Jose.
Across from Midland Elementary, just before 1 p.m., Jose was in his kitchen, while his wife was vacuuming near the front of the house.
“She heard a big crash, and then she yelled at me that somebody got hit,” said Jose.
They rushed out and saw their Honda truck wrecked. Nearby was a damaged MTS paratransit bus. The driver, about 60 years old, was off the bus.
“Ran to him, and I ask him if he's okay,” said Jose.
He said he was. There was no one else on the bus.
‘The MTS bus crashed on my truck, and then my truck hit the white car,” said Jose.
Fire crews say the MTS bus crashed. That caused a chain reaction with four parked vehicles.
The father of a Poway High teen told ABC 10News his son was pinned between the truck and a fence. He says his son suffered head and leg injuries, but will be okay.
Tire marks show where the bus veered onto the sidewalk, before taking out some greenery and crashing into an electrical box.
Jose says the bus driver revealed the cause of the crash as Jose and a neighbor were talking to him.
“He said he fell asleep,’ said Jose.
The accident came two days after the bus driver union voted to end its 5-week strike.
A source confirms the bus driver involved in the crash crossed the picket line and was driving during the strike. That strike disrupted service for routes in the South Bay and East Counties.
ABC 10News reached out to MTS contractor Transdev to see if drivers worked extra or longer shifts during the strike, and are waiting to hear back.
An MTS spokesperson deferred our questions to law enforcement and Transdev. A sheriff’s department spokesperson declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation.
Jose says he is insured and believes his truck which he bought a year ago is totaled.
