Investigators believe brake failure may have caused a deadly crash Monday that involved a Charlotte Area Transit System bus and two private vehicles. The incident, in the 1100 block of E. Third Street, left one man dead and 16 injured.
According to a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department spokesman, the crash occurred when a 1987 Ford F150 pickup truck was attempting to exit John Belk Freeway onto Third Street. Traffic ahead of the truck was stopped for a red light when the truck veered around the stopped traffic and entered Third Street, where it collided with the bus, which had a green light. The bus then sideswiped a second vehicle.
The truck’s driver was taken to Carolinas Medical Center and later pronounced dead. Police withheld the driver’s name until relatives could be notified. A 59-year-old female passenger in the truck sustained minor injuries.
The bus was carrying 19 passengers; 13 were taken to CMC reporting minor injuries. The driver of the third vehicle was uninjured.
The CATS bus driver, 48-year-old Priscilla Chisolm, also sustained minor uninjured. In keeping with CATS policy, she will be on paid leave until the CMPD investigations and mandatory drug tests are completed.
Monday’s crash was the second deadly accident involving a city bus in less than a week. On Sunday, 74-year-old Charles Adkins died from injuries he sustained Wednesday when his bicycle was struck by a bus on Statesville Road. Investigators said he turned into the path of the bus.
