UPDATE: Joseph Milan has died of injuries sustained after being crushed by an RTA bus in Lakewood on June 10, family members have confirmed.
Little else is known about the situation, reported by Scene below, as RTA is being quite tight-lipped. Lakewood police have not publicly expounded on the investigation, either. – Eric Sandy
***
Originally posted June 11:
Via Lakewood Patch, a man crushed by the No. 26 RTA bus on Detroit Ave. in Lakewood Monday morning is now in critical condition, fighting for his life at MetroHealth Medical Center.
According to Police, the victim was running late, had been banging on the bus door, and tripped and fell. As of Monday, police haven’t discovered who the driver was — can’t they just ask RTA? — but they seem to think the driver wasn’t aware that anyone had been run over.
A passing nurse from Lakewood stopped to help the injured man, who was reportedly lying in a pool of his own blood.
“It looked [like] it dragged him halfway down the street,” the nurse told the Patch. “I never, in million years, thought that someone would be hit by a bus and left for dead.”
Both of the man’s legs were severely broken, and the Lakewood Fire Department called his injuries life threatening. For the time being, RTA has deferred all questions to the Lakewood Police.
This article appears in Jun 12-18, 2013.
I used to drive, Ambulances, Fire Trucks and School Busses – all large vehicles with huge blind spots. To me it is unfortunately not difficult to believe that a driver of one of the Number 26 articulated busses (the bendy-buses) would not see someone near the rear of the bus, particularly if they were merging left back into the travel lane on Detroit. That being said I’m not sure how you could actually run over someone and not realize it, but having never driven one of those busses I’ll give the driver the benefit of the doubt on that for now.
Look, this is absolutely horrible and it’s a tragedy that this person lost their life. I’m guessing though that with a vehicle that big, you’re not as much “in tune” or able to hear noises like you can in your own car. Heck, with all the people talking on the bus and the big engine running, I’d be shocked if you could hear someone pounding on the side of the bus.