front row to minor tragedy

Jay Janner Austin American Statesman

So this morning I couldn't go straight to my office because of an accident. When I arrived at my office I found that the major part of the accident was caddy-corner to our building. There were multiple fire trucks, multiple police cars, multiple ambulances, and a non stop media frenzy. From everything I gather an SUV was at fault; my boss saw the driver walking around dripping wet with airbag liquid. His front end was folded in accordion style. And then there was a bus in the front lawn of the building across the way! I arrived after the crash when the first emergency vehicles had come. The bus pictured above swerved to miss the SUV crashing into a brick wall, crossing through 2 parking lots and then ending up slammed into the side of the building. The bus driver was pinned in because her leg was caught; reports say she broke the leg and her injury is one of two serious ones. A passenger on the bus suffers the other serious injury. It looked as if another bus was involved somehow as well. It was on the scene when I arrived and was here before the police arrived. The most accurate story I have read on the accident is in the Statesman.

There were no fatalities, no life-threatening injuries. They just cleared up the accident and the bus has been towed from the building, three hours later. How amazing that it wasn't more tragic; it could have been much worse. And talk about near misses. I could have been driving earlier down that road and been involved, the bus could have crashed into our building instead.

I can't imagine how fearful the passengers from that bus are now. They must be frightened to ride a bus again, and they must have a lot to process. As I pulled in my lot, I heard one of the passengers, a homeless man, shout "I'll never ride the bus again!" I wonder at how CapMetro is handling them; are they providing free rides and bus passes to compensate and ensure they still have these people as customers. It was minor compared to other accidents, but it still has a tragic air. It is amazing how fleeting and futile this life is. On a 2 lane road on a quiet and simplistic block in the laid-back city of Austin, a bus loaded with morning passengers smashes into a building. Though it is a mere trifle in comparison to recent events in sleepy towns far from this one, it leaves an impression.