Las Vegas NowRTC Challenged on the Safety of Bus Stops
One woman was killed and another seriously injured in this July 2008 bus stop crash.
These four people were killed in 2004 when a car slamming into the bus stop where they were standing.A local family is demanding transportation officials make bus stops safer after their loved one was killed at a local bus stop. The victim's families and safety advocates are threatening to have the bus stops shut down if changes aren't made.
Here is the problem. Experts say to be in compliance with safety regulations, many of the 3,700 bus stops around the valley need to be moved back from the side walks. Transportation officials say in some places they just can't be moved.
"There is no reason why they should be sitting so close to the street when people are traveling so fast," said Robin Wynkoop.
Last month, Wynkoop's mother was hit and killed when a truck came crashing into a bus stop.
"She was laying there legs mangled bloody," Markton Wallace wife Porche Hughes was also hit -- her legs had to be amputated. Police say 44-year-old Steven Murray was behind the wheel and had prescription drugs in his system.
"For six years now, 11 people have died," said transportation safety advocate Chris Christopher.
For 5 years, Christopher has been fighting to get bus stops pushed back from the streets, but he says nothing has been done, "Anybody can run into because there is no protection."
Willie Richardson waits a bus stop everyday. But no matter how long he has to wait, you won't ever see Willie sitting down, "It's like playing Russian Roulette."
Instead, he's seeking cover and hoping his luck won't run out, "You never know when drunk or someone on a cell phone might come pay you a visit."
Safety advocates are threatening to have the federal government come shut bus stops down if changes aren't made.
RTC officials have already moved nearly 70 bus stops back from the street in two years, but in many cases moving them isn't possible. Sidewalks aren't wide enough and putting up barriers could be even more dangerous.
RTC officials will meet next Thursday to consider other steps they can take to increase bus stop safety.
The driver of the truck, Steven Murray, is in jail charged with DUI and vehicular homicide. This will be his fifth DUI if he's convicted.
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