Second Fatal Bus Accident in Less than a Week

By Jorge Casuso

July 31 -- A pedestrian was struck and killed by a Blue Bus in Downtown Santa Monica Tuesday night, less than one week after another City bus was involved in an accident that killed a driver and his passenger in West Los Angeles.

Tuesday night's accident occurred at around 7:30 p.m. near the corner of Ocean Avenue and Broadway and involved a 70-year-old pedestrian, who was transported to a local hospital, where he died at around 10 p.m., police said.

Police department spokesman Lt. Frank Fabrega said that because the accident involved City property a police report, including the identity of the victim, would not be released for ten days.

The cause of the accident, he said, is under investigation.

Blue Bus officials said they have little or no information about Tuesday's accident, which is the second fatal accident involving a Blue Bus in five days.

"We have very limited information until police release a report," said Joe Stitcher, assistant to the director at transit administration. "We're cooperating with the police, as we always do."

It is hard to tell whether the two fatal accidents -- the first bus-related fatalities since January 1998 -- will prompt a review of the department's already extensive training system, Stitcher said.

"It's difficult to say how a situation like this with two tragic accidents in such a short time would prompt a review of what happened and what we can do to avoid this in the future," he said. "But we do have a very extensive training program.

"Knowing how extensive the (training) process is, without details it's hard to say what we could change. But we are concerned and saddened that there have been two fatal accidents in such a short period."

Last Thursday's accident occurred at approximately 7 p.m. when a bus driven by 52-year-old Frank Jones struck a 1997 Honda Accord on the driver's side as the car was turning left onto Manchester Avenue from Sepulveda West Way

The impact sent the car into a collision course with a second car, killing the driver and a passenger and critically injuring a second passenger.

The diver of the Honda -- 27-year-old Robert Vicelich -- was transported to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood, where he was pronounced dead as a result of injuries.

Elizabeth Ewing, 27, one of two passengers in the vehicle also was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The third passenger sustained major injuries and was transported to the UCLA Medical Center.

Jones sustained minor injuries and none of his 20 passengers was injured. The accident is under investigation by the LAPD's West Traffic detectives.